Trump: "Iran’s Kharg Island military facilities reduced to rubble...they would be wise to surrender"

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on the 13th (local time) that U.S. Central Command had bombed military facilities on Iran’s Kharg Island, a key strategic hub. He also delivered a stark warning that while strikes on oil infrastructure were being held back for now, the U.S. would immediately destroy Iran’s oil facilities if Tehran disrupts vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

On the 13th (local time), Trump wrote on Truth Social, "At my direction, U.S. Central Command carried out one of the most powerful bombing operations in the history of the Middle East," adding that it had "completely annihilated all military targets on Kharg Island, known as Iran’s 'crown jewel.'"

Kharg Island is a critical economic and logistics chokepoint that accounts for an overwhelming share of Iran’s total crude exports. Trump said, "The United States has the most powerful and sophisticated weapons in the world, but for moral reasons we decided not to destroy the island’s oil infrastructure," adding, "However, if Iran or any force interferes with the free and safe passage of ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider my decision to preserve the oil facilities."

He also touted the United States’ overwhelming military advantage and urged the Iranian regime to capitulate. "The U.S. military is the most lethal and powerful force anywhere in the world," he said, adding, "Iran has no ability to defend any target we choose to hit. There is nothing they can do."

He continued, "Iran will never be able to have nuclear weapons, nor will it have the capability to threaten the United States, the Middle East, or the world," warning that "those tied to Iran’s military leadership and terrorist regime would be wise to lay down their weapons and at least protect what little remains of their country."