US bombs military sites on Iranian island as Trump threatens its oil
infrastructure
[March 14, 2026]
By JON GAMBRELL, DAVID RISING, KONSTANTIN TOROPIN and MIKE
CORDER
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — President Donald Trump said the U.S.
destroyed military sites on an island vital to Iran’s oil network and
warned that its oil infrastructure could be next if Iran continues to
interfere with the passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said U.S. forces on Friday “obliterated” targets on Iran’s Kharg
Island, which is home to the primary terminal that handles the country’s
oil exports. The speaker of the Iranian parliament had warned that such
strikes would provoke a new level of retaliation.
Meanwhile, an American official said 2,500 more Marines and an
amphibious assault ship are being sent to the Middle East nearly two
weeks into the war with the Islamic Republic.
Iran has continued to launch widespread missile and drone attacks on
Israel and neighboring Gulf states, and effectively closed the Strait of
Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil passes, even as
U.S. and Israeli warplanes pummel military and other targets across
Iran.
The humanitarian crisis in Lebanon deepened, with nearly 800 people
killed and 850,000 displaced as Israel launched waves of strikes against
Iran-backed Hezbollah militants and warned there would be no let up.
Marines and assault ship will add to US forces
Elements from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and the amphibious
assault ship USS Tripoli have been ordered to the Middle East, according
to the U.S. official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of
anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans.
Marine Expeditionary Units are able to conduct amphibious landings, but
they also specialize in bolstering security at embassies, evacuating
civilians, and providing disaster relief. The deployment does not
necessarily indicate that a ground operation is imminent or will take
place.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the new Marine deployment.
The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, as well as the Tripoli and other
amphibious assault ships carrying the Marines, are based in Japan and
have been in the Pacific Ocean for several days, according to images
released by the military. The Tripoli was spotted by commercial
satellites sailing alone near Taiwan, putting it more than a week away
from the waters off Iran.
Earlier in the week, the Navy had 12 ships, including the aircraft
carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and eight destroyers, operating in the
Arabian Sea. Should the Tripoli join this flotilla, it would be the
second-largest ship behind the Lincoln in the region.
While the total number of U.S. service members on the ground in the
Middle East is not clear, Al-Udeid Air Base alone, one of the largest in
the region, typically houses some 8,000 U.S. troops in Qatar.
US strikes Persian Gulf island after Iranian warning
The U.S. strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf targeted
military sites but left its oil infrastructure alone for now, Trump said
in a social media post.
But he warned that if Iran or anyone else interferes with the passage of
ships through the Strait of Hormuz, he will reconsider his decision not
to “wipe out the Oil Infrastructure.”
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Rescue workers search for survivors in the rubble after a strike in
southern Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Sajjad
Safari)
Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf warned on
Thursday in a social media post that attacks on the islands on
Iran’s southern maritime frontier would cause Iran to “abandon all
restraint,” underscoring how central they are to the country’s
economy and security.
On Saturday, Iran’s joint military command reiterated its threat
that it will attack the U.S.-linked oil and energy facilities in the
region if oil infrastructure of the Islamic Republic were hit.
Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central
Headquarters, warned they will target “all oil, economic, and energy
infrastructures belonging to oil companies across the region that
have American shares or cooperate with America.”
Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency Saturday said the U.S. strikes
caused no damage to oil infrastructure on the island.
It reported at least 15 explosions followed the strikes, which it
said targeted an air defense facility, a naval base, the airport
control tower and an offshore oil company’s helicopter hangar.
Missile strikes inside US Embassy compound in Baghdad
A missile struck a helipad inside the U.S. Embassy compound in
Baghdad, two Iraqi security officials said.
Associated Press footage showed a column of smoke rising Saturday
morning over the embassy compound.
The sprawling embassy complex, one of the largest U.S. diplomatic
facilities in the world, has been repeatedly targeted by rockets and
drones fired by Iran-aligned militias.
There was no immediate comment from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. On
Friday, the embassy renewed its Level 4 security alert for Iraq,
warning that Iran and Iran-aligned militia groups have previously
carried out attacks against U.S. citizens, interests and
infrastructure, and “may continue to target them.”
US says 15,000 targets struck in Iran since the start of the war
Israel earlier announced another wave of strikes in Iran targeting
infrastructure, and said its air force had hit more than 200 targets
in the last 24 hours, including missile launchers, defense systems
and weapons production sites.
In Washington, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that over
15,000 enemy targets have been struck — more than 1,000 a day since
the war began.
He also sought to address concerns about the bottling of the Strait
of Hormuz, telling reporters: “We have been dealing with it and
don’t need to worry about it.”
___
Rising reported from Bangkok. Toropin reported from Washington, and
Corder reported from The Hague, Netherlands. Associated Press
writers Sally Abou AlJoud, Kareem Chehayeb and Bassem Mroue in
Beirut; Qassim Abdul-Zahra from Baghdad; Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv,
Israel; Will Weissert at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland; and Tia
Goldenberg in Washington contributed to this story.
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