【Wen / Observers Network, Yuan Jiaqi】
On Friday (13th) local time, US President Trump announced on social media that the US military had launched a "violent air strike" against the core oil export hub of Khark Island in Iran, and claimed to have "completely destroyed" all military targets on the island.
Khark Island is located in the Persian Gulf, about 15 miles from the Iranian mainland, and is a crucial oil transfer hub for Iran, with approximately 90% of the country's oil exports passing through this facility.
According to the UK's Sky News, on the 14th, after the United States struck Khark Island, Iran immediately threatened to attack all oil facilities related to the United States in the Middle East.
The Iranian military spokesperson warned that if Iran's energy and economic infrastructure were attacked, Iran would target "all oil, economic and energy infrastructure of oil companies holding American shares or cooperating with the United States in the region."
On Saturday local time, Manuchehr Mottaki, former foreign minister and member of parliament of Iran, also issued a strong warning to the US side, saying that if the US tried to seize Khark Island, the US troops stationed in the Middle East would face the risk of being captured.
He warned, "If they dare to take such an action and occupy our territory, why can't we go to their territory, that is, their military bases here, carry out helicopter operations and capture their garrison?"
Khark Island location, Sky News map
Iran: Oil facilities on the island were not damaged and are operating normally
According to Fars News Agency on the 14th, at least 15 explosions occurred on the island during the attack, and the attackers attempted to destroy the island's defense works, military bases and helicopter hangars, but the oil facilities were not damaged. According to Mehr News Agency, the situation on the island has been controlled, and the defense system was reactivated shortly after the attack, and the attackers failed to achieve their strategic objectives.
According to reports from Tasnim News Agency, Esfandiar Jahangiri, the deputy governor of Bushehr Province adjacent to Khark Island, confirmed that the island was attacked by the US military, but oil exports "continued to operate fully normally," and oil facilities "remained undamaged."
He said, "Despite the brutal attack by the Zionist regime and the United States on Khark Island early Saturday morning, the operations at the export terminal's oil companies continued to be normal. The operations of enterprises on the island are also ongoing without any disruption."
He added that only "some military facilities and Khark Airport" were damaged, and there were no casualties among military personnel, oil company employees or residents on the island. All departments continued to carry out daily work.
US information disclosed on the same day stated that the US military carried out a "successful strike" on more than 90 military targets on the island. The US Central Command claimed that the operation destroyed Iranian navy mine storage facilities and missile storage bunkers, but "retained" the oil infrastructure.
Earlier, Trump had stated on social media that the US military did not destroy the oil facilities on the island, but at the same time issued a threat, saying that if Iran disrupted the freedom and security of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, he would "immediately reconsider this decision."
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) warned that if Trump further escalated the action and directly destroyed Iran's core oil facilities instead of only attacking guard forces, international oil prices would likely be significantly pushed up.
Iran may also escalate retaliatory actions. The report said that the conflict has lasted for two weeks, and Iran still has the ability to launch large-scale low-cost, high-kill explosive drones to Gulf Arab neighbors and passing merchant ships, and even possibly expand the scope of attacks to key civilian facilities such as desalination plants.
Meanwhile, a US official told Associated Press that the US was continuing to deploy 5,000 Marines, sailors and an amphibious assault ship to the Middle East. However, the report emphasized that although the Marine Expeditionary Force has amphibious landing capabilities, its regular tasks also include strengthening embassy security, civilian evacuation and disaster relief, and this deployment does not necessarily mean that the US will launch a ground operation.
Military analyst Sean Bell believes that Trump's threat against Khark Island is essentially just bluster.
"Trump didn't touch the oil facilities and made a big deal out of it," Bell speculated. "From a broader perspective, a large amount of oil exported from this island in Iran goes to China. If he destroys these facilities, it might anger China and lead to further escalation of the conflict."
He added, "These US Marines arriving in the Middle East will probably take another two weeks. In the current context of the Iran conflict, two weeks is a very long time. Therefore, this may just be a simple threat from Trump, merely to show that he is not excluding the possibility of sending ground forces."
US Deployment of Marines and Warships to the Middle East
On the 13th, two US Department of Defense officials told US Naval Institute News that as the US-Israeli military action against Iran entered its third week, the "Liberty" class amphibious assault ship "Tripoli" (USS Tripoli, LHA-7), along with part of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (31st MEU) deployed on board, were heading to the Middle East, where they would join the "Ford" and "Lincoln" aircraft carrier strike groups already deployed in the area.
According to a report by French magazine Naval News, before receiving orders to head to the Middle East, the "Tripoli" and the Marines and accompanying vessels had participated in exercises in the Pacific Ocean near the Philippines, then returned to their base in Japan, and then set off again. Ship tracking data showed that on Thursday, the "Tripoli" had sailed alone south of Taiwan and passed through the Luzon Strait.
On February 10, 2026, the US Navy's Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer "Rafael Peralta" was refueling from the amphibious assault ship "Tripoli" while conducting maritime replenishment operations in waters near the Philippines. US Navy
It is introduced that the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit is based in Okinawa, and the home port of the "Tripoli" is the Sasebo naval base, both of which are forward-deployed forces of the US Navy in Japan. The entire expeditionary unit consists of approximately 2,200 Marines, plus sailors assigned to the amphibious ship.
The ship can carry F-35B "Lightning" II fighter jets, and previously tested the US Navy's so-called "light aircraft carrier" concept. According to images provided by the Department of Defense, in April 2022, the ship carried at least 19 F-35B fighters for related verification missions.
Usually, amphibious readiness groups/Marine Expeditionary Units dispatched to the US Central Command area come from the east coast of the United States, with the core mission being "non-combatant evacuation operations." The specific mission of the "Tripoli" and the expeditionary unit in the Central Command is currently unclear.
News about the "Tripoli" being ordered to the Middle East was first disclosed by The Wall Street Journal earlier that day, citing three anonymous Pentagon officials. It was reported that US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had approved the request from the Central Command to deploy an amphibious readiness group and the attached Marine Expeditionary Unit.
Naval News pointed out that this troop movement is the largest military asset ever drawn from the Indo-Pacific Command area. Previously, as part of the US forces in Japan, the "Tripoli" was long assigned to the Seventh Fleet's operational area for deployment.
The report analyzed that potential missions for the "Tripoli" could include deploying Marines on Iranian outer islands along the Strait of Hormuz as a forward base to assist in intercepting possible Iranian mining and blockading actions.
However, Naval News also emphasized that, to date, the Pentagon has not confirmed the real purpose of the "Tripoli" carrying out new missions, nor has any official person publicly released statements on this matter.
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Original: toutiao.com/article/7617123836484305423/
Statement: The article represents the views of the author himself.