President Donald Trump said the United States bombed military sites on Kharg Island on Friday, an island he described as vital to Iran’s oil export network. Trump said U.S. forces “obliterated” targets on the island and warned that its oil infrastructure could be next, according to reporting from The Associated Press.
An American official, speaking to AP on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans, said 2,500 more Marines and an amphibious assault ship are being sent to the Middle East. AP said the order involves elements of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli, which are currently based in Japan and have been operating in the Pacific for several days.
AP said Iran state television reported a large explosion in central Tehran as a rally was taking place. The blast occurred in the Ferdowsi Square area at midday as thousands gathered for the annual Quds Day rally. The report said the crowd chanted “death to Israel” and “death to America.”
The Tehran report said Israel had issued a warning in Farsi on an X account shortly before the blast, telling people to clear the area. AP reported few Iranians would have seen it because Iranian authorities have almost completely shut down internet access. The report also said there were no reports of casualties.
AP said the decision to proceed with the demonstration, which included some senior government officials, and Israel’s warning to target the area underscored tensions in the war, which has rattled global economic expectations and has shown no sign of slowing. The report said Iran has continued missile and drone attacks on Israel and neighboring Gulf states, while also effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump, in comments reported by AP, said the U.S. strikes on Kharg Island targeted military sites but left Iran’s oil infrastructure for now. The report said he warned that if Iran or anyone else interferes with the passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, he would reconsider his decision not to “wipe out the Oil Infrastructure.”
The Kharg Island warning followed an earlier statement by Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, AP reported. Qalibaf warned in a social media post that attacks on islands on Iran’s southern maritime frontier would cause Iran to “abandon all restraint.”
The Marine and USS Tripoli movement was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, AP said. AP reported that the Tripoli was spotted by commercial satellites sailing near Taiwan, putting it more than a week away from waters off Iran. AP also said that earlier in the week, the U.S. Navy had 12 ships operating in the Arabian Sea, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and eight destroyers.
In Washington, AP reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the United States has struck over 15,000 enemy targets since the war began, more than 1,000 a day. When asked about concerns over the Strait of Hormuz, AP said Hegseth told reporters, “We have been dealing with it and don’t need to worry about it.”
AP also reported military casualties and regional attacks beyond Iran and Israel. The U.S. military confirmed that all six crew members of an American KC-135 refueling plane were killed after the aircraft crash in Iraq, bringing the U.S. death toll to at least 13 service members, AP said. AP reported Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said three of the victims were from his state and had deployed with the Ohio Air National Guard’s 121st Air Refueling Wing, and that U.S. Central Command said the crash was not related to friendly or hostile fire and involved two aircraft, including one that landed safely.
The AP report added that in Oman, two people were killed when two drones crashed in the Sohar region, according to Oman News Agency reporting cited by AP. AP said the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Oscar Austin shot down an Iranian ballistic missile over Turkey on Friday.
In Lebanon, AP said the Lebanese Health Ministry reported that an Israeli strike hit a health care center in the village of Burj Qalaouiyah, killing 12 doctors, paramedics and nurses. The ministry also reported that at least eight people were killed in a strike on Sidon on Friday, AP said. AP reported the ministry’s estimate that 773 people have been killed since fighting erupted between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants 10 days earlier, including more than 100 children and 18 paramedics.
In an interview with Fox News, AP said Trump described the end of the war in personal terms, saying it would conclude “when I feel it in my bones.” The report also said he told Fox News that it was a “big hurdle” for people that don’t have weapons to topple Iran’s Islamic government, citing the Basij force.