PHOTO: @DONALD J. TRUMP/TRUTHSOCIAL
Trump was sending message to Iran with Kharg Island post, says Vance
· The Straits Times- US President Trump used a social media post about Kharg Island to send a strategic message to Iran, according to Vice-President J.D. Vance.
- Trump’s post included an AI-generated video, but US officials confirmed no military strikes targeted Kharg Island overnight.
- Iranian officials dismissed the post as "laughable," while US forces reportedly attacked two Iranian launchers on Larak Island, marking the first strikes since late July.
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump was sending a message to Iran with his social media post about Iran’s energy hub of Kharg Island being blown to smithereens, Vice-President J.D. Vance said on Aug 31.
“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 when asked about Trump’s post.
Trump’s one-line social media post on Aug 30 was accompanied by an AI-generated video clip.
A US official said on Aug 31 the military had not targeted Kharg Island in overnight strikes.
An Iranian official dismissed Trump’s post as “laughable”.
Attacking Kharg, which handled 90 per cent of Iran’s oil exports before the war launched by US and Israeli attacks on Feb 28, would severely disrupt its energy trade and put huge pressure on its economy.
In describing the first known US military strikes since late July, a US official said forces attacked two Iranian launchers on Larak Island. REUTERS