type: timeline_event
On March 13, 2026 — Day 14 of Operation Epic Fury — the U.S. Air Force conducted strikes on Kharg Island, the transit point for approximately 90 percent of Iran's oil exports. The strikes hit more than 90 military targets on and around the island, including IRGC naval positions, air defense batteries, and command-and-control facilities. Notably, the U.S. deliberately spared the oil loading terminals and storage infrastructure on the island itself.
President Trump issued a public warning that the restraint on oil infrastructure was conditional, stating he would "reconsider" if Iran continued attacking commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The threat represented a significant escalation in the economic dimension of the conflict — a full strike on Kharg's oil terminals would effectively eliminate Iran's ability to export crude, with cascading consequences for global energy markets already under severe strain from the Hormuz closure.
The Kharg Island strikes were the most symbolically significant targeting decision of the war to date. The island has long been considered Iran's most strategically vulnerable point, and its targeting in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War contributed to Iran's eventual acceptance of a ceasefire. By demonstrating the ability and willingness to strike Kharg while holding back on oil infrastructure, the administration appeared to be sending a coercive signal designed to pressure Tehran into reopening the strait without triggering the catastrophic global oil price spike that destroying export capacity would cause.
Military analysts noted that the precision of the targeting — hitting dozens of military installations while avoiding adjacent oil facilities — demonstrated significant intelligence preparation and deliberate restraint, though critics questioned whether the escalatory trajectory of the war made such restraint sustainable.