WRAPUP 3-Iran dismisses Trump's post of attack on key energy hub of Kharg

An Iranian official dismissed as "laughable" on Monday a post by Donald Trump of an AI-generated video clip that the U.S. president said showed Iran's oil hub Kharg Island being "blown to smithereens". Hours after Sunday's post, there was no evidence Kharg had been attacked. The White House and the U.S. Defense Department did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment outside regular business hours.

Trump's post came shortly after the U.S. and Iran ‌resumed hostilities for the first time since late July, further denting hopes for any early resolution of a conflict now in its sixth month and driving oil prices nearly 2% higher on Monday. U.S. forces on Sunday struck two Iranian launchers on Iran's Larak Island, some 660 km (410 miles) east of Kharg, a U.S. official said, prompting Iran to retaliate by attacking two U.S. bases in Jordan, according to Iranian media.

"Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!! President DJT," Trump had said on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, with no further details. Reuters confirmed that an accompanying video clip showing dramatic explosions was most likely synthetically generated, using software that detects ‌AI-manipulated imagery.

"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, he added in comments cited by Nournews, a semi-official outlet ‌close to Iran's top security body.

IRAN VOWS TO RESPOND TO ANY ATTACKS Kharg handled 90% of Iran's oil exports before the war launched by U.S. and Israeli attacks on February 28, and attacking it would severely disrupt energy trade and put huge pressure on the economy.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country was not seeking war but would respond decisively to any aggression. "We will never remain silent in the face of any aggression...," state media quoted him as saying on Monday ahead of a visit to Kyrgyzstan.

It was not clear if he was speaking before or after Trump's post on Kharg Island. A U.S. official said forces had attacked the Iranian launchers on Larak Island on Sunday after "Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea ⁠mines into the Strait ​of Hormuz".

Larak is a small island in the strait near the strategic Iranian ⁠port of Bandar Abbas. The strait, which normally handles a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, has been effectively blocked since the start of the war. In a statement, the U.S. Central Command said it took "limited, precise" action against minelaying forces of Iran's Revolutionary Guards that posed an "imminent threat" in the strait. It gave no details.

In retaliation, as well ⁠as attacking the U.S. bases in Jordan, Iran's army said it had also struck the Al Minhad air base in the United Arab Emirates early on Monday. However, the UAE's defence ministry dismissed that report as false. The UAE defence ministry later said its air force engaged a drone that had come from Iran over its territorial waters. It provided ​no further details, including whether it was shot down.

The Jordan strikes targeted U.S. bases used to launch and support the attack on Larak, Iran's foreign ministry said. The Revolutionary Guards used air defence missiles to shoot down a U.S. drone that crashed in Gulf waters, ⁠the Mehr news agency said on Monday, citing a statement from the elite force.

A supertanker caught fire and was brought to a complete halt after being struck by two naval mines in the southern Strait of Hormuz, Iran state TV said, citing a Guards' statement. UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said Iran's policy of targeting Gulf Arab states and Jordan had failed.

"A state of neither war ⁠nor ​peace cannot be a sustainable solution," Gargash said in a post on X, adding that realistic political solutions should begin with de-escalation and the restoration of normal shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. PILING ECONOMIC PRESSURE ON IRAN

Trump has yet to achieve the objectives he set out at the start of the war: dismantling Iran's nuclear programme, curbing its ability to attack regional rivals and creating conditions for Iranians to overthrow their clerical rulers. Sunday's return to hostilities followed weeks in which his administration has stepped up efforts to punish Tehran and its business partners with costly economic sanctions, shifting away from military options.

U.S. Treasury Secretary ⁠Scott Bessent told Reuters on Sunday new secondary sanctions were likely to be unveiled weekly in the effort to pressure Iran, with an initial focus on banks. Amid threats to shipping, the number of visible commodity vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz dropped to five a day over the weekend, ⁠shipping data showed.

The actual number could be higher as some vessels have switched off ⁠automatic identification systems to evade attacks. The Guards said the supertanker on fire after being hit by mines had been attempting to pass through the waterway illegally, but gave no details of the vessel or crew, according to a statement cited by state television.

Last week, Trump said all mines had been detonated or removed from the international waters of the strait and Iran had been warned that any vessel placing new mines would be destroyed. Iran denied ‌Trump's assertion.