U.S. Strikes Kharg Island for Second Time; Crude Oil Hits $113
CENTCOM reports another large-scale precision strike on Iran’s primary oil export hub, targeting military sites while avoiding oil infrastructure. WTI crude has nearly doubled since January. This is day 39 of the conflict.
The U.S. military struck Kharg Island for the second time on April 7, targeting military infrastructure on Iran's primary oil export hub. CENTCOM described it as a "large-scale precision strike" hitting targets similar to the March 13 raid. Oil infrastructure was again deliberately avoided. WTI crude is trading at $113 per barrel, nearly double its January price.
What was struck
According to CENTCOM, the overnight strikes targeted:
- Naval mine storage facilities
- Missile storage bunkers
- Air defense systems
- Assets used to block international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz
The U.S. has now struck more than 13,000 Iranian targets since the conflict began, per CENTCOM's cumulative count. This is the second strike specifically on Kharg Island; the first, on March 13, hit more than 90 military sites in nearly two hours of continuous airstrikes.
What was not struck
Both Kharg Island strikes deliberately avoided oil export infrastructure. The island handles up to 90% of Iran's crude exports and can load 10 supertankers simultaneously with a capacity of roughly 7 million barrels per day. After the March 13 strike, satellite imagery from Copernicus Sentinel-2 showed tankers still loading crude within hours.
Trump stated after the March raid that the U.S. "totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran's crown jewel, Kharg Island" but avoided oil infrastructure "for reasons of decency."
Oil market impact
| Date | WTI Crude | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2 | $57.54 | Pre-conflict baseline |