Trump claimed Iran’s key Kharg Island was being ‘blown…

On August 31, 2026, President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated video on Truth Social claiming that Kharg Island, a critical Iranian energy hub responsible for 90 percent of the nation's oil exports, had been destroyed. The post, which included the caption "Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!!", depicted a man in an aircraft observing fiery explosions within an oil field and harbor.

What happened

The post was released without supporting evidence during a period of heightened regional tension. Despite the claim, a U.S. official confirmed to Reuters that the military had not targeted Kharg Island in overnight strikes. Hamid Bovard, the chief executive of the National Iranian Oil Co., publicly ridiculed the assertion, stating that conditions on the island remained calm and normal. The AI-generated clip was presented alongside a series of political statements from the President regarding the state of the conflict with Iran. While the U.S. military had conducted "limited, precise" operations against Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz that same weekend, these actions were geographically distinct from the location depicted in the fabricated footage.