Trump posts AI blast video of Iran oil hub as Kharg remains intact
Why it matters: Kharg handled about 90% of Iran's oil exports before the war, and oil prices rose nearly 2% as fighting resumed.
President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated video that appeared to show Iran's Kharg Island oil hub exploding, but there was no evidence the island had been attacked. A U.S. official said American forces instead struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island on Sunday, marking the first known U.S. military action since late July. Iran dismissed the Kharg post as “laughable,” and National Iranian Oil Co chief Hamid Bovard said operations on the island were continuing. Vice President J.D. Vance later said Trump was sending a message to Tehran, not describing a real strike. Kharg was Iran's main oil export terminal before the war, so any attack there could sharply disrupt global energy trade.