President Trump posts an AI-generated video clip that claims to show Iran’s oil hub Kharg Island being destroyed
istanbul
Iran is still seeking a negotiated solution to its conflict with the US, President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday, a day after the two countries resumed hostilities for the first time since late July, driving oil prices up more than 3.5%.
Pezeshkian’s comments also came after US President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated video clip that he said showed Iran’s oil hub Kharg Island being destroyed. There was no evidence of any such attack, and a US official said on Monday the military had not targeted Kharg Island in overnight strikes. An Iranian official dismissed Trump’s post as “laughable”.
US forces on Sunday struck two Iranian launchers on Iran’s Larak Island, some 660 km (410 miles) east of Kharg, a US official said, prompting Iran to strike two US bases in Jordan, according to Iranian media.
Two people were killed, and others were injured in the attack on Larak Island, Iran’s IRNA News Agency quoted the local governor as saying on Monday.
The return to hostilities followed weeks in which Trump’s administration has stepped up efforts to punish Tehran and its business partners with costly economic sanctions, shifting away from military options. Diplomacy remains in stalemate.
Pezeshkian, speaking to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of a regional security meeting in Kyrgyzstan, accused the US of failing to fulfil its commitments under past agreements.
“Nevertheless, we are still trying to achieve an agreement and understanding, and we believe that continuing the war is in no one’s interest, neither ours, nor the region’s, nor humanity’s,” Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency quoted him as saying.
“We believe the solution to the existing issues is dialogue and cooperation and that every capacity must be used to prevent the spread of insecurity and conflict.”
‘Blown to smithereens!!!’
Earlier, Trump had annoyed Iran by posting on his Truth Social platform the AI-generated video clip with the message: “Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!! President DJT.”
Reuters confirmed that the video clip showing dramatic explosions was most likely synthetically generated, using software that detects AI-manipulated imagery.
The White House and the US Defence Department did not respond to Reuters requests for comment outside regular business hours.
Kharg handled 90% of Iran’s oil exports before the war launched by US and Israeli attacks on February 28, and attacking it would severely disrupt energy trade and put huge pressure on the economy.
“Trump’s tweets are laughable, and conditions in Kharg are calm and appropriate,” Hamid Bovard, chief executive of government-run National Iranian Oil Co, said on Monday.
Oil operations have not stopped, and workers were busy repairing previous damage and modernising facilities, Bovard said in comments cited by Nournews, a semi-official outlet close to Iran’s top security body.
