By Mackenzie Tatananni
The U.S. confirmed Saturday that it had struck a tiny but vital island off the coast of Iran while leaving its energy infrastructure intact, avoiding the possibility of a worsening oil crisis.
The U.S. Central Command said in a statement Saturday that naval mine storage facilities and missile storage bunkers were among the targets destroyed in a so-called precision strike on Kharg Island.
Kharg Island is a small coral outcrop in the Persian Gulf, roughly 15 miles off the Iranian coast. It's home to an oil terminal that ships 90% of the country's oil exports, and is widely considered an economic linchpin for Iran.
The Central Command said that U.S. forces had struck 90 Iranian military targets on the island "while preserving the oil infrastructure."
Iran's Fars News Agency, an outlet closely affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, confirmed Saturday on the messaging platform Telegram that the strikes had targeted air defenses, a naval base, an airport control tower, and a helicopter hangar.
Iran has made it clear that an attack on its oil facilities would trigger an escalation in the fighting, with its military saying in a statement Friday that energy infrastructure owned by U.S.-linked firms would "immediately be destroyed and turned into a pile of ashes."
The strike comes amid flaring tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Further escalations could see oil priced in the hundreds of dollars per barrel, spurring higher inflation in the future. Wall Street analysts and economists are concerned that inflation will outpace economic growth, leading to stagflation.
Oil prices briefly dipped below the $100 mark early on Friday, but turned higher toward the end of the session. Brent crude, the international benchmark, settled at $103.14 a barrel on Friday, marking the second straight session it closed above $100.
U.S. crude futures, meanwhile, on Friday settled at $98.71 a barrel, their highest level since June 2022. Oil futures will reopen Sunday.
Considering Kharg Island's reputation as an economic lifeline for Iran -- as well as the country's threat of retaliation in the case of a strike on oil facilities -- any U.S. attack on the island's infrastructure may send oil prices higher.
President Donald Trump indicated Friday that escalation wasn't off the table. "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 president wrote on social media.
Trump's remarks came after multiple reports suggested the Indian government was working with Iranian officials to allow ships to pass through the strait, which is located directly to the south of Iran and facilitates the transit of roughly 20% of global oil shipments.
Oil tankers have all but stropped transiting the strait as conflict rages in the region -- and the U.S. has suggested that it's weighing the use of naval escorts in the future.
Trump himself said earlier this week that the U.S. Navy "will escort tankers through the Strait if needed."
"I hope it's not going to be needed, but if it's needed, we'll escort them right through," he added.
Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 14, 2026 11:19 ET (15:19 GMT)
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