Iranian official says Kharg oil exports ‘normal’, no casualties after US strikes
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A satellite image shows an oil terminal at Kharg Island, Iran, on Feb 25. The island handles roughly 90 per cent of Iran’s crude exports.
PHOTO: REUTERS
TEHRAN – Oil export operations from Iran’s Kharg island in the Gulf were proceeding as normal March 14 after US strikes on the crude export hub which caused no casualties, a regional official said.
Activities of oil companies “at this export terminal are continuing as normal”, said Mr Ehsan Jahaniyan, deputy governor of Iran’s southern Bushehr province, quoted by the IRNA news agency.
The Fars news agency, citing sources on the island, reported there had been no damage to oil facilities after President Donald Trump said US strikes had destroyed only military targets.
Mr Trump had threatened in a social media post to target oil infrastructure on the island, a crucial hub for Iran, if Tehran continues to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has, in turn, threatened to target US-linked oil infrastructure.
Deputy governor Jahaniyan said that after the attacks “daily life and routine activities of the residents are also fully maintained”.
The attack “did not cause any casualties among military personnel, company employees, or residents of Kharg island”, he added.
According to Fars, the US operation “tried to damage the army’s defences, the Joshan naval base, the airport control tower and the helicopter hangar of the Iran Continental Shelf Oil Company”.
Kharg Island, a scrubby stretch of land in the northern Gulf around 30km off the Iranian mainland, handles roughly 90 per cent of Iran’s crude exports. AFP
