‘Blown to Smithereens!!!’ Trump Posts Menacing AI Vision of Iran’s Kharg Island Being Obliterated

(Jacquelyn Martin/AP photo/Truth Social screenshot)

President Donald Trump ramped up rhetoric against Iran’s regime Sunday night, posting an AI-generated video of the country’s strategically vital Kharg Island being “blown to smithereens.”

The video shows a helicopter pilot watching explosions tear through the island’s oil field and harbor, with the president writing above: “Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!! President DJT.”

(Screengrab via Truth Social)

Kharg Island is one of the most economically sensitive potential targets in Iran, handling roughly 90% of the country’s oil exports. Such an attack on the island could severely constrain Tehran’s ability to sell crude and increase pressure on its already strained economy.

It was not immediately clear whether Trump’s post was intended to signal an actual U.S. operation against the island. The White House and Defense Department did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment, and there was no independent confirmation that Kharg had been attacked.

“Trump’s tweets are laughable and conditions in Kharg are calm and appropriate,” Hamid Bovard, chief executive of government-run National Iranian Oil Co., told Reuters.

In July, the U.S. struck Kharg Island in a bombing attack after the Trump administration reportedly examined military options that included capturing the island or carrying out strikes designed to cripple its oil infrastructure.

Officials also reportedly considered seizing other islands near the Strait of Hormuz to reduce Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping.

The provocative post came hours after U.S. forces carried out their first offensive military action against Iran in a month, striking Iranian rocket launchers near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday. U.S. Central Command said the U.S. had conducted “limited, precise” action against Revolutionary Guard mine-laying forces that posed an “imminent threat” in the waterway.

Iran retaliated by launching ballistic missiles toward two U.S. bases in Jordan. Jordan’s military said it intercepted eight missiles that entered the country’s airspace.

The Strait of Hormuz carried nearly one-fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before its blockade during the six-month Iran war. Trump has repeatedly declared the waterway open despite Iran’s claims to the contrary.

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