US strikes Iran’s oil-critical Kharg Island — as Trump warns ‘whole civilization will die’

The US unleashed targeted strikes on Iran’s critical Kharg Island on Tuesday — as President Trump chillingly declared that “a whole civilization will die tonight.”

Roughly 50 strikes were carried out on military targets on the Islamic Republic’s oil-critical stronghold, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing senior US officials.

Kharg Island, which is one-third the size of Manhattan and located in the Persian Gulf, controls roughly 90% of Iranian crude oil exports.

The mission included airstrikes along the northern side of the Island, hitting military bunkers and storage facilities, air defense systems, and other military facilities, an official told NBC News.

When asked about the Kharg Island strikes early Tuesday, President Trump told The Post he “can’t comment on that.” 

Moments later, he took to Truth Social to warn Iran that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if the regime does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8 p.m. ET Tuesday.

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?” he said.

“We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!”

Separately, Vice President JD Vance insisted the targeted strikes on Kharg Island didn’t signal a change in strategy.

“My understanding, having talked to [Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine] about this is, is that we were going to strike some military targets on Kharg Island. I believe we have done so,” he said during a press conference in Budapest.

“I don’t think the news about Kharg Island represents a change in strategy, or represents any change for the president of the United States. He continues to say the deadline is 8 o’clock.”

As the clock ticked down on Trump’s deadline, strikes in other parts of Iran only intensified.

Railway and road bridges, an airport and a petrochemical plant were among those struck, according to Iranian media.

At least two people were killed in a strike on a railway bridge in Kashan, Mehr News Agency reported.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards responded by vowing it would no longer hold back from targeting the infrastructure of the US and its allies in the region.

“We will do something with the infrastructure of America and its partners that will deprive America and its allies of oil and gas in the region for years,” the statement said.

They warned, too, that Iran’s response would go “beyond the region” if the US crosses red lines.

“We have not and will not be the initiator of attacks on civilian targets; but we will not hesitate to retaliate against vile attacks on civilian facilities,” the statement said.

With Post wires