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U.S. President Donald Trump shared an AI-generated video late Sunday depicting the imagined destruction of Iran’s Kharg Island, a key oil export hub, as Tehran also vowed a "decisive response" to any further attack after U.S. forces conducted strikes on Iranian launchers on Larak Island.
"Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!! President DJT," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, reiterating his threat of possible action against one of Iran’s most strategically important sites.
Kharg Island is a vital center for Iran’s oil industry and exports, normally handling nearly 90% of Iran’s crude exports because of its deep-water access for large oil tankers.
The post came after Trump reiterated in a Fox News interview published Sunday that Iran must never be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons, describing its leadership as "very violent, evil people."
"You cannot let them have a nuclear weapon, and they won’t have a nuclear weapon," Trump told Fox News. He argued that Tehran would have used a nuclear weapon had it acquired one, claiming the Middle East “would have essentially been gone” and that Israel would have been destroyed, with the United States or Europe potentially becoming the next targets.
"If I weren't president, Israel would be gone. There would be no Israel. And there would probably be no Middle East," he added.
Trump also claimed the U.S. was inflicting significant damage on Iran and praised what he described as an effective blockade against the country.
"We are doing a great job. The blockade has been unbelievable ... we are hitting them very hard. Nobody has ever been hit like this," he said.
Trump called Iran a "failing nation" and said he was surprised when Tehran began targeting Gulf countries at the start of the war.
"Everybody was shocked. I was surprised," he said, adding that he believed the attacks had caused Iran to lose support.
Earlier Sunday, U.S. forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island, marking the first U.S. strikes on Iranian territory since late July.
The operation targeted systems allegedly being prepared to launch rockets carrying sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reported that several fighters and civilians were killed or injured in the strike and vowed to respond, as Iran launched missiles and drones toward U.S. airbases in Jordan and the UAE.
Addressing the recent tensions, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Monday that Tehran was not seeking war but would not remain passive in the face of further aggression.
Speaking before departing for Kyrgyzstan for an international summit, Pezeshkian said Iran "is not looking for war" but would "never sit still in the face of any aggression," according to the Fars news agency.
"Iran will give a decisive response to the aggressors" if attacked, Pezeshkian said, warning that instability and unrest in the region would challenge everyone.
Pezeshkian is due to attend a summit of heads of state of Shanghai Cooperation Organization member countries in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital.
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