U.S. President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated video clip that he said was Iran's oil hub Kharg Island being blown to smithereens, hours after the two countries traded attacks for the first time since July. It was not clear if Trump's post was a threat to Kharg Island or if an attack was taking place. Several hours after the 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. There was no immediate response to Trump's post on Iranian media. "Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!! President DJT," Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, but gave 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.
Attacking Kharg, which handled 90% of Iran's oil exports before the war launched by U.S. and Israeli attacks on February 28, would severely disrupt its energy trade and put huge pressure on its economy. Iran was not seeking war but would respond decisively to any aggression, President Masoud Pezeshkian said.
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