President Trump on Sunday night shared an AI-generated video purporting to show Iran’s key oil export terminal on Kharg Island being “blown to smithereens,” posting the clip just hours after the first US airstrikes on the Islamic Republic since July.
Trump, 80, did not note in his Truth Social post that the 10-second video was created with artificial intelligence. As of Monday morning, there was no evidence that Kharg Island, located off Iran’s coast, had been struck.
Hamid Bovard, chief executive of the state-run National Iranian Oil Co., dismissed the post in comments to the semi-official Iranian outlet Nournews. “Trump’s tweets are laughable and conditions in Kharg are calm and appropriate,” he said, adding that operations were continuing and crews remained focused on repairing earlier damage.
Earlier Sunday, US Central Command said American forces had targeted rocket launchers on Iran’s Larak Island, roughly 400 miles east of Kharg. Iran responded by firing missiles toward US sites in Jordan, but the projectiles were intercepted.
In a separate development, the United Arab Emirates Defense Ministry said its military had “dealt with” an Iranian drone detected over UAE waters. No damage was reported.
The ministry later released another statement rejecting an Iranian army claim that Al Minhad Air Base in Dubai had been targeted, calling the assertion false.
