By Phil Stewart and David Lawder
WASHINGTON, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Iran's energy hub of Kharg Island is being blown to smithereens, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday, after forces hit two rocket launchers on another island in the first known American strikes on the Islamic republic since late July.
Attacking Kharg, which handled 90% of Iran's oil exports before the war launched by U.S. and Israeli attacks on February 28, would severely disrupt the Islamic republic's energy trade and put huge
pressure on its economy.
"Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!! President DJT," Trump said on social media, but gave no further details. The White House and the U.S. Defense Department did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment outside of regular business hours.
Reuters was able to verify that an accompanying video clip showing dramatic explosions was artificially generated.
There was no immediate response to the comments on Iranian media.
Iran responded to the earlier U.S. attack on rocket launchers on its island of Larak, about 660 km (410 miles) east of Kharg, with an assault on two U.S. bases in Jordan, Iranian media said.
The return to hostilities followed weeks in which the Trump administration has stepped up efforts to punish Tehran and its business partners with costly economic sanctions, shifting away from military options.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters on Sunday new secondary sanctions were likely to be unveiled weekly in the effort to pressure Iran, with an initial focus on banks.
"We're starting with the banks, and we're telling the banks it's not okay to have Iranian money and to aid the regime," Bessent said in an interview.
After imposing penalties on the United Arab Emirates branches of Egypt's Banque Misr on Friday over alleged financial links to Iran, Bessent said the next step may be cutting off an institution entirely from the dollar-based financial system.
"You're going to see a lot more of these every week," Bessent told Reuters, ahead of a meeting of Group of 20 finance leaders.
FIRST KNOWN MILITARY ATTACKS IN WEEKS
In describing the first known U.S. military strikes since late July, a U.S. official said forces attacked two Iranian launchers on Larak Island, more than 600 km (370 miles) distant from Kharg.
The small island in the Strait of Hormuz near the strategic port of Bandar Abbas overlooks shipping lanes at the mouth of the Gulf, giving it a key role in tension over Iran, maritime security and global energy supplies.
"Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz," the source added.
In retaliation, Iran launched ballistic missiles at Jordan, targeting two U.S. bases. Jordan's armed forces had intercepted eight missiles that entered its airspace, state television said.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said the attack killed and wounded several soldiers and citizens and vowed a "response and punishment" from Tehran, according to Iranian state media.
In a statement, the U.S. Central Command said it took "limited, precise" action against minelaying forces of Iran's Revolutionary Guards that posed an "imminent threat" in the Strait of Hormuz. It gave no details.
After the U.S. strikes, Iran attacked U.S. forces station in Jordan, a Fox News reporter said on Sunday, citing a U.S. source. Nearly all incoming missiles "have been intercepted at this point," the reporter said on X, flagging a lack of significant impact.
Amid threats to shipping, the number of visible commodity vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz dropped to five a day over the weekend, shipping data showed.
The actual number could be higher as some vessels have switched off automatic identification systems to evade attacks.
Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump said all mines had been detonated or removed from the international waters of the strait and Iran had been warned that any vessel placing new mines would be destroyed.
While Trump has repeatedly said the Strait of Hormuz is open, Iran's Revolutionary Guards' navy had called those statements "an obvious lie", reiterating that it remained closed to ships without Iranian permission.
The waterway carried nearly a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before it was blockaded in the six-month-old Iran war.
Iran is the third largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
(Reporting by David Lawder in Asheville, North Carolina, Phil Stewart and Kanishka Singh in Washington, Helen Coster in New York, and Yasmine Ghania and Hatem Maher in Cairo; Editing by Paul Thomasch, Clarence Fernandez, Raju Gopalakrishnan)
