Iran's Kharg Island bombed, Trump says US to escort ships through Hormuz soon

President Donald Trump said on Friday (Mar 14) that the United States had heavily bombed military targets on Iran's oil hub Kharg Island and the US Navy would soon begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.

Several top Iranian officials joined a defiant pro-government rally in Tehran, meanwhile, marching alongside demonstrators waving banners reading "Death to America" and "Death to Israel".

As the US intensified its bombing of Iran, Tehran launched a new wave of drone and missile attacks on Israel and its Gulf neighbours.

The war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon continued to rage, and the Lebanese health ministry said an Israeli strike on a primary healthcare center in southern Lebanon had killed at least 12 medical personnel on Friday.

According to the Lebanese authorities, at least 773 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Lebanon aimed at wiping out Iranian ally Hezbollah.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said military targets on Kharg Island, which handles almost all of Iran's crude exports, had been "totally obliterated" in "one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East".

He said he had chosen not to target oil infrastructure on the island for now.

"However, should Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider this decision," the US president said.

With oil prices spiking, Trump was asked when the US Navy would begin escorting tankers through the Gulf's critical Strait of Hormuz. 

"It'll happen soon, very soon," he said.

Iranian strikes have all but halted maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas normally pass.