Topline
President Donald Trump posted two AI-generated videos showing an aerial attack on what appears to be an oil field and suggested that Iran’s Kharg Island—which handles a vast majority of the country’s oil exports—is being destroyed, while the U.S. military struck Iranian rocket launchers along the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday.
Kharg Island, located in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Iran.
Gallo Images via Getty Images
Key Facts
The post was accompanied by an AI-generated video of an airman looking out of an aircraft window as fire and explosions ring out in an oil field.
The deepfake video shows explosions engulfing an oil storage tank, a docked tanker and other buildings.
The president followed this up with another AI-generated video showing a volley of missiles landing on a massive coastal oilfield, triggering explosions.
It’s unclear if the videos were generated by the president’s team or reshared from follower accounts.
The president’s post comes as the U.S. military resumed major attacks on Iranians forces for the first time this month, although there are no reports of Kharg Island being targeted.
The is a screenshot of the AI-generated clip posted by the president on Sunday night.
Screenshot from @realDonaldTrump on Truth Social
What Do We Know About the U.S. Strikes?
The U.S. military’s Central Command said it took “limited, precise action” against the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ “minelaying forces,” which it said posed an imminent threat to the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM said Iran’s actions were creating a threat, and it acted to eliminate that and “protect civilian mariners, commercial shipping and the free flow of global commerce.” Iranian state media reported explosions near Larak Island, which is located near the Strait of Hormuz, while the IRGC acknowledged multiple casualties. It’s unclear whether Trump’s post confused Larak with Kharg, but the latter is located much farther into the Persian Gulf, more than 400 miles northwest of the Strait of Hormuz.
Tangent
The IRGC claimed it has retaliated against the Hormuz strikes by launching ballistic missiles at two U.S. bases in Jordan. In a statement, the Jordanian military said its air defense systems intercepted eight missiles that penetrated its airspace on Monday. The statement noted that the missiles were destroyed before they “posed any threat to citizens or property.”
key background
The pair of videos are the latest instance of the president using AI-generated imagery and videos on his social media posts—mainly to attack rivals and tout his successes. Many of these AI posts had stoked controversy, sometimes forces the president to backtrack and delete such posts. The biggest such controversy erupted in April when president shared an AI-generated image depicting himself as Jesus Christ, amid a very public feud with Pope Leo XIV. The post faced immediate pushback from various groups, including some prominent Republicans, prompting Trump to delete it. A few days later, the president posted another AI image showing him embraced by Jesus in front of an American flag. Trump has also shared several of the AI-generated images depicting himself and other members of his cabinet swimming in the renovated Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool and implying the water body was a sewer under previous Democratic administrations. In another AI posting spree late last month, Trump threatened Iran with AI images showing showing Kharg Island getting bombarded and Iranian oil tankers being seized by U.S. forces and the president himself. Other posts made during that spree included AI-generated photos of Trump standing with President John F. Kennedy and him “saving” President George Washington.
big number
90%. That is the amount of Iran’s oil exports that are processed on Kharg Island, making it a strategically critical island for the country. Located in the northern part of the Persian Gulf, it houses nearly 20,000 people most of whom are oil workers and features three major energy infrastructure hubs. While Trump has previously threatened to seize or blow up Kharg Island, no such major attack have been launched so far.
further reading
U.S. and Iran Trade Fire for First Time in a Month (New York Times)
Trump Mocks Critics, Touts 2028 Run And Poses With JFK In Bizarre AI Posting Spree (Forbes)
Education Department Posts, Then Deletes, Clip Comparing Trump To Hitler (Forbes)
Here’s Why The U.S. Could Seize Kharg Island In War With Iran—And Why It Might Backfire (Forbes)