Trump Posts Likely AI-Generated Video Claiming Iran’s Kharg Island Is Being Destroyed; No Strike Confirmed

President Donald Trump posted on social media that Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub, was being attacked, but there was no confirmation that any strike had taken place.

Reuters reported on August 31 that Trump uploaded a short message saying Kharg Island was “being blown to pieces,” along with a video showing a massive explosion. Before the war began, Kharg Island handled about 90% of Iran’s crude exports.

Reuters said it found no independent evidence that Kharg Island had actually been hit. Trump’s post did not identify who carried out the alleged attack, when it occurred or what damage had been caused. The White House and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The video Trump posted appeared likely to have been generated by artificial intelligence rather than showing real footage. Reuters said software used to detect AI-manipulated images indicated the clip was probably synthetic.

Kharg Island plays a central role in Iran’s energy industry. Before the war began on February 28 with US and Israeli attacks on Iran, about 90% of the country’s crude exports passed through the island. A real attack on Kharg Island could deal a heavy blow to Iran’s oil exports and broader economy.

Trump’s post came shortly after military clashes between the US and Iran resumed following a pause of more than a month. Earlier, US forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz, about 660 kilometers east of Kharg Island. It was the first direct US strike on Iran since late July.

The US said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, had been preparing to launch rockets from the site to deploy naval mines into the Strait of Hormuz. US Central Command said it carried out a “limited and precise” strike against IRGC minelaying assets that posed an imminent threat in the waterway.

Iran later retaliated by launching ballistic missiles at two US military bases in Jordan. Jordan’s military said on state television that it intercepted eight missiles that entered the country’s airspace. The IRGC said the earlier US strike had killed or wounded several soldiers and civilians and signaled further retaliation.

Renewed military tensions have also sharply reduced the number of vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Shipping data showed the number of commodity carriers confirmed to have transited the strait over the weekend fell to about five a day. The actual total may have been higher because some ships turned off their Automatic Identification System, or AIS, to avoid attack.

The US also plans to increase economic pressure on Iran alongside its military action. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters that Washington could announce new secondary sanctions on Iran every week, with initial measures focused on the banking sector. He added that fully cutting financial institutions off from the dollar-based financial system remained an option.

Before the war, the Strait of Hormuz carried about one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas, or LNG, shipments. Iran is the third-largest oil producer in OPEC, and markets are closely watching whether Kharg Island was actually hit and whether further military action will unfold around the strait.