United States forces said they executed a large-scale precision strike on Kharg Island in Iran on Friday night, but did not hit the oil infrastructure in the region.
The U.S. Central Command disclosed this on Saturday, describing the action as deliberate.
This comes as the US-Israeli war against Iran clocks two weeks and has had a major impact on the global economy, especially crude oil supply.
The US military said it struck more than 90 Iranian military targets on the Iranian island.
The strike destroyed naval mine storage facilities, missile storage bunkers, and multiple other military sites, the U.S. military said.
US President Donald Trump had threatened on Friday to strike the oil infrastructure of Iran’s Kharg Island hub unless Tehran stopped attacking vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
As the war entered its third week, Iran, however, struck a defiant note, playing down the extent of the damage on Kharg while threatening to step up its use of more powerful weapons and warning that parts of the United Arab Emirates were legitimate targets.
In a statement, the IRGC urged residents in the UAE to evacuate ports, docks, and U.S. military shelters to avoid civilian casualties.
The US-Israeli war against Iran has continued to disrupt global oil supply over the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical world shipping route.
Trump said on Saturday that many countries would send warships to keep the strait open, but did not provide details on which countries would do so.
Amid the market volatility caused by Middle East tensions, Nairametrics reported on Friday that crude oil prices were on track for a significant weekly gain despite a brief dip following the announcement of a 30-day sanctions waiver on Russian crude stuck on tankers.
The United States said it would contribute 172 million barrels of that total, reversing an earlier position that it had no plans to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to fill any global supply gaps.