Vance Says Trump's Kharg Island Post Was a Message to Iran
VP Vance says Trump's social media post about Kharg Island was a deliberate message to Iran, not a military announcement.
Vice President JD Vance said on Monday that President Donald Trump's social media post about Iran's Kharg Island was intended as a message to Tehran, not a formal announcement of military action.
"The president likes to switch it up on social media a little bit. He would be the first to say he doesn't make announcements about military actions on social media, but I think that he's sending a message to the Iranians," Vance said in response to a question about the post.
Trump's Sunday post, which included an AI-generated video clip, referenced the energy hub of Kharg Island being "blown to smithereens." However, a U.S. official clarified on Monday that the military had not targeted Kharg Island in overnight strikes. An Iranian official dismissed the post as "laughable."
Kharg Island handled 90% of Iran's oil exports before the war that began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on February 28. An attack on the island would severely disrupt Iran's energy trade and place significant pressure on its economy.
In the first known U.S. military strikes since late July, a U.S. official said forces attacked two Iranian launchers on Larak Island.