US strikes military targets on Kharg Island ahead of Trump’s deadline to Iran

The United States struck military targets on Iran’s Kharg Island overnight, a White House official said Tuesday.

Kharg Island is the lifeline of Iran’s oil economy as roughly 90 percent of the country’s crude oil is handled there.

An official told NBC News that the strikes were on the northern side of the island and did not strike any oil facilities, and instead hit military bunkers and other storage and military facilities. No troops on the ground were involved.

This is the second time that the island has been struck after an initial strike last month.

President Trump announced the first strikes on Kharg Island last month on social media, saying they were at his direction and were “one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East, and totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran’s crown jewel.”

The official told NBC News that some of the targets struck overnight were the same ones hit last month.

The strikes come hours before Trump’s 8 p.m. deadline for Iran to make a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz or else face ramped-up attacks.

Trump has made grave threats related to the deadline, saying the attacks would be focused on bridges and power plants and would send Iran back to the “Stone Ages.”

The president wrote on social media Tuesday that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”

“I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” he said. “However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?”

“We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World,” he continued. “47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!”

The remarks by Trump have led to concerns that the attacks could target civilians, and that they might violate the Geneva Conventions.

Trump has maintained that his main goal is to get Iran to not have a nuclear weapon, and that it has been accomplished.

However, he said Monday that the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz was a “very big priority.”

The strait’s closure has caused oil and gas prices to skyrocket since the start of the war five weeks ago.

As of Tuesday morning oil trading was at $113.40 per barrel, which is $2.15 above Monday morning’s level.

Updated at 9:17 a.m. EDT

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