NEW: After Declaring the MOU ‘Over,’ Trump Threatens New Iran Strikes, Blockade, and Seizure of Kharg Island at NATO Summit
Details below 👇🏻
Trump says strikes are sparing major infrastructure like bridges for now, but electricity and water facilities could be targeted next. He also raised the possibility of a U.S. occupation of Kharg Island.
President Trump:
“We attacked Kharg Island last night.
We may take over Kharg Island. There is not a thing they can do about it.”
NOW: Reports of U.S. strikes targeting IRGC positions at Deyr Port in Bushehr Province and on Kharg Island, Iran
Seems like a new wave is underway
Our @simchabrodsky joined Newsmax’s Shannon Cake to discuss the next phase of U.S. pressure on Iran.
Past U.S. strikes have focused on military infrastructure..radar, comms, and air defense systems.
Trump’s threat to seize Kharg Island wi...
Our @simchabrodsky joined Newsmax’s Shannon Cake to discuss the next phase of U.S. pressure on Iran.
Past U.S. strikes have focused on military infrastructure..radar, comms, and air defense systems.
Trump’s threat to seize Kharg Island will change that.
Kharg handles ~90% of Iran’s oil exports. If the U.S. takes control of it, the IRGC loses its biggest financial lifeline.
Sources inside Iran tell OSINT613 that the biggest obstacle facing anti regime activists right now is communication.
Starlink remains largely inaccessible. VPN costs have surged. Open internet access is becoming more unaffordable as Iran’s economy continues to deteriorate.
CNN: Iran has reportedly spent months reinforcing Kharg Island against a potential U.S. operation, deploying additional troops, air defenses, MANPADS, and minefields.
Kharg island handles roughly 90% of Iran’s crude oil exports and is considered one of Tehran’s most vital economic assets.
NOW 🔴
Iran’s Fars News Agency reports an explosion near Kharg Island, Iran’s key oil export hub in the Persian Gulf.
JUST IN 🔴
CENTCOM says U.S. forces disabled the Botswana flagged tanker M/T Lexie after it ignored repeated warnings while heading toward Iran’s Kharg Island.
A Hellfire missile struck the vessel’s engine room, preventing it from reaching port.
Since the blockade began on April 13, the U.S. says it has disabled 6 vessels and redirected 122 others.
The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority, calling it "a joke" and warning all entities against paying tolls or concealing them as aid.
Iranian troops are going unpaid, police are not reporting for work, and Kha...
The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority, calling it "a joke" and warning all entities against paying tolls or concealing them as aid.
Iranian troops are going unpaid, police are not reporting for work, and Kharg Island has been shut down. The economy and currency are in free fall.
A U.S. naval blockade has pushed Iranian crude on the water to record lows. Both Iranian airlines will be cut off from landing access, refueling, and ticket sales. Treasury says only a satisfactory negotiated outcome will reverse the pressure.
NEW: U.S. forces seized the Skywave, an Iran-linked oil tanker, in the Indian Ocean overnight, according to three U.S. officials. The vessel was sanctioned in March for its role in moving Iranian crude and was likely loaded with over a million barrels from Kharg Island in February.
- Wall Street Journal
NEW: The U.S. military seized an Iranian oil tanker carrying roughly one million barrels in the Persian Gulf overnight. The vessel was loaded at Kharg Island. - Wall Street Journal
An Israeli official said the chances of a full-scale resumption of the war are now greater than 50%, though no final decision has been made.
According to the official, President Trump could still look for a last-minute reason to delay mili...
An Israeli official said the chances of a full-scale resumption of the war are now greater than 50%, though no final decision has been made.
According to the official, President Trump could still look for a last-minute reason to delay military action, but may also decide to renew the fighting immediately.
The source said limited strikes are unlikely to alter Tehran’s position. Other options being discussed include seizing Kharg Island, securing Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile, and taking control of the Strait of Hormuz.
The official added that it remains unclear what type of pressure would force Iran to change course.
According to Axios, Iran’s latest counterproposal includes only symbolic concessions. It expands Tehran’s pledge not to pursue nuclear weapons, but does not include a suspension of uranium enrichment or the transfer of its existing stockpile of highly enriched uranium. YNET
Sentinel-2 imagery from May 16 shows roughly 20 oil and gas tankers anchored off Iran’s Kharg Island.
According to @SoarAtlas, one LPG tanker appears to be loading cargo, potentially marking the first gas shipment from Kharg since the U.S. naval blockade began.
Satellite imagery shows no Iranian oil tanker has loaded crude at Kharg Island in the past 4 days.
This image is from today.
Very interesting.
Sentinel-2 satellite imagery from today shows 3 Iranian tankers loading at Kharg Island.
Gen. Keith Kellogg has proposed the U.S. "take" Iran's Kharg Island to become a global oil power.
Treasury Secretary Bessent:
"Kharg Island, Iran’s primary oil export terminal, is soon nearing storage capacity, which will force the regime to reduce oil production, resulting in an additional approximately $170 million per day in lost revenue, and causing permanent damage to Iran’s oil infrastructure."
Here me out: TankerTrackers reports Iran has up to 20 VLCCs (Very Large Crude Carriers, supertankers each can hold 2 million barrels of oil) available to absorb excess crude, buying Iran’s oil fields critical time before forced well shutdow...
Here me out: TankerTrackers reports Iran has up to 20 VLCCs (Very Large Crude Carriers, supertankers each can hold 2 million barrels of oil) available to absorb excess crude, buying Iran’s oil fields critical time before forced well shutdowns.
All you need is one unknown covert operation.
Kharg Island runs on subsea manifolds. Underwater junction points where every pipeline from Iran’s mainland oil fields converges before splitting out to the offshore loading platforms. They are the circulatory system of the entire terminal. No manifolds, no flow.
An unknown underwater drone reaches those manifolds.
Even with outside help, repairing subsea infrastructure underwater in wartime takes at least 3 weeks. That is before a single barrel moves.
Every VLCC sitting full offshore will be at zero use. The wells shut in quite quickly.
Karoline Leavitt: Iran is split between pragmatists and hardliners and can't deliver a unified response. Trump extended the ceasefire but the naval blockade continues. Iran is losing $500 million a day. Kharg Island is full. They can't move oil or pay their own people.
No firm deadline has been set for an Iranian proposal. "The timeline will be dictated by the commander in chief."
Islamic regime oil business choked.
No loading activity observed at Kharg Island in the latest Sentinel-2 imagery (04.18).
The U.S. naval blockade continues, with the Wall Street Journal reporting Washington is weighing seizures of Iran-linked tankers worldwide.
Via @NatSec_News
Reports: Iran’s Kharg Island oil facilities remain undisturbed despite recent strikes.
Reports indicate Iran’s Kharg Island, a key oil export hub, was hit by multiple strikes.
U.S. planners are considering ground operations in Iran, including Kharg Island and uranium sites, pending Trump’s approval.
- The Atlantic
REPORTER: “The president said we might blow up and completely obliterate all of their generating electric plants, oil wells, Kharg island, and possibly all desalination plants. Under international law, striking infrastructure is generally ...
REPORTER: “The president said we might blow up and completely obliterate all of their generating electric plants, oil wells, Kharg island, and possibly all desalination plants. Under international law, striking infrastructure is generally prohibited. Why is the president advocating potentially a war crime and how do you square that with the US aying it does not target civilians?”
WH: “Their best move is to make a deal or else the united States armed forces has capabilities beyond their wildest imagination”
