President Donald Trump announced Friday that the United States had massively struck military targets on Iran's oil hub Kharg Island, and that the US Navy would soon begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump claimed that military targets on Kharg Island, which handles nearly all of Iran's crude exports, had been "totally obliterated" in "one of the most powerful bombing raids in the history of the Middle East."
He stated that he would not target the island's oil infrastructure at this time.Our weapons are the most powerful and sophisticated the world has ever seen, yet for reasons of decency, I have decided not to destroy the island's oil infrastructure.

However, should Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider this decision," the US president said.

He said Iran has "no ability to defend anything that we want to attack".

"There is nothing they can do about it! Iran will NEVER have a nuclear weapon, nor will it have the ability to threaten the United States of America, the Middle East or, for that matter, the World! Iran's Military, and all others involved with this Terrorist Regime, would be wise to lay down their arms, and save what's left of their country, which isn't much," he said.With oil prices rising, President Trump was asked when the US Navy will begin escorting tankers across the Gulf's vital Strait of Hormuz. "It'll happen very soon," he stated.
Iranian strikes have effectively blocked marine trade in the Strait of Hormuz, which regularly transports a fifth of the world's crude oil and liquefied natural gas.
Meanwhile, many high-ranking Iranian officials marched alongside demonstrators in Tehran brandishing banners stating "Death to America" and "Death to Israel."
As the US stepped up its bombing of Iran, Tehran unleashed a new round of drone and missile attacks on Israel and its Gulf neighbors.The war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon continued, with the Lebanese health ministry reporting that an Israeli hit on a basic healthcare center in southern Lebanon killed at least 12 medical professionals on Friday.
According to Lebanese authorities, at least 773 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon aimed at eliminating Iranian ally Hezbollah.
US Marines deployed
Until now, the United States and Israel have exercised caution surrounding Kharg Island, but US officials have been cited as indicating that seizing the island was a possibility.
On Friday, the Wall Street Journal and New York Times reported that the Pentagon had ordered the USS Tripoli, a Japan-based amphibious assault ship, to the region with 2,500 Marines.

Heavy bangs rattled Tehran late Friday after the US promised to increase air strikes, and Iranian state television reported that a new round of missiles had been launched toward Israel. According to Israeli rescue workers, no casualties have been reported.
Blasts were reported in Doha early Saturday, and Qatar's defense ministry announced its military had intercepted missiles aimed toward the Gulf state.
Saudi Arabia's defense ministry said its troops intercepted dozens of drones on Friday, while Turkey said NATO forces knocked down a ballistic missile launched from Iran, the third such interception in the conflict.
Despite the death of its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, at the outset of the US-Israeli campaign on February 28, the Islamic republic is determined to demonstrate that it will emerge from the conflict intact and in charge.Khamenei's son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was named the new supreme leader, but he has been absent from public view and is claimed to be wounded.
The US government announced a $10 million prize for information on Mojtaba Khamenei's whereabouts.According to US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the US military would hit Iran more heavily on Friday than any other day of the conflict. The price of a barrel is $100.
According to the Pentagon, the United States and Israel have targeted approximately 15,000 targets in Iran in the last two weeks. Israel's military says it carried out 7,600 strikes on the country, the majority of which targeted its missile development.
The battle has caused havoc in global markets and driven oil prices skyrocketing.Brent futures for a barrel of crude have risen by more than 42%, making markets and governments worldwide concerned about energy supplies and increasing inflation. On Friday, oil remained above $100 per barrel.
Within Iran, the Revolutionary Guards have warned that any anti-government protests, following those in January that killed several thousand people, will be met with an even tougher response.
Since the commencement of the war, Iranian authorities have enforced an internet blackout.
Iranians speaking to AFP under the guise of anonymity painted a bleak image of towns in ruins and cash running low.
A woman in Kermanshah, western Iran, told AFP that "countless" individuals from Tehran had arrived to seek protection from air attacks, increasing demand for food and scarce medicine, with prices "nearly doubling."

The UN refugee agency estimates that up to 3.2 million people have been displaced within Iran since the conflict began.
On March 8, Iran's health ministry reported that more than 1,200 people had been slain, a figure that AFP could not independently verify.
Since the start of the war, the US military has lost 13 troops, including six members of a refueling plane that crashed in Iraq in an incident that officials maintained was not caused by hostile fire.