US President Donald Trump claimed that Iran's Kharg Island, the country's main oil-export terminal, was "being blown apart" in a post on his Truth Social platform accompanied by what appeared to be an AI-generated video showing large explosions.
The post did not provide any evidence of an attack on the island, and no official confirmation has emerged to support the claim.
According to Reuters, neither the White House nor the US Department of Defense responded to requests for comment.
"Kharg Island is being blown to smithereens!!! President D.J. Trump," Trump wrote, offering no further explanation.
The accompanying video showed dramatic explosions and appeared to be an artificial intelligence creation.
No evidence of attack
Reuters reported that there was, so far, no evidence indicating that Kharg Island had come under attack.
Any strike against the island would carry major implications for Iran's economy, given that Kharg handled around 90% of the country's oil exports before the war, making it one of Tehran's most important energy assets.
A disruption to operations there would severely affect Iranian oil exports and place significant additional pressure on the country's economy.
US signals tougher sanctions
At the same time, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated that Washington could introduce new secondary sanctions against Iran on a weekly basis as part of its campaign of economic pressure.
His remarks followed US sanctions imposed on branches of Egypt's Banque Misr in the United Arab Emirates over alleged financial ties to Iran.
Speaking to Reuters ahead of a meeting of G20 finance ministers, Bessent said further measures could eventually include cutting institutions off from the dollar-based financial system.
"You will see many more of these every week," he said.
"We start with the banks and tell them it is not acceptable to hold Iranian money and help the regime."
Warning to G20 countries
Bessent said he would tell G20 finance ministers and central bankers that they should sever financial ties with Iran or risk facing secondary sanctions themselves.
"There cannot be any leakages," he said.
"Either you are with us or you are with the Iranians."
China not immediate target
The US Treasury chief also rejected arguments that sanctions on Iran cannot succeed without directly targeting Chinese companies.
According to Bessent, most Chinese purchases of Iranian oil have already been constrained by US restrictions affecting Iranian ports, while volumes of Iranian oil stored aboard tankers have been declining.
"The problem has been solved," he said.
