Flames and smoke rise from an oil storage facility attacked during attacks on the city during the US-Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo) The United States has now begun attacking Iran’s most strategic economic asset, Kharg Island. Located in the northern Persian Gulf, Kharg Island accounts for 90% of Tehran’s oil exports and President Donald Trump has characterized the attack as an attempt to pressure the Iranian administration to end the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Described by Trump as Iran’s “crown jewel,” the US military attacked a dozen targets on Kharg Island on Friday night, likely causing fuel prices to spike in China. Retail sales of gasoline and diesel on Monday saw their steepest increases since March 2022. Trump, in a new threat, said he might attack Kharg Island again “just for fun.”
How does the US attack on Iran’s Kharg Island affect China?
Kharg, which is a small coral island 33 kilometers off the coast of Iran, is considered the main terminal for the passage of most of Tehran’s oil. Since the United States and Israel began attacking the Islamic nation, Iran has exported 13.7 million barrels of oil and several tankers were seen in satellite images in Kharg. AP reported citing TankerTrackers.com, a maritime intelligence company.
Much of the oil transported from Iran’s Kharg Island is sent to China, which is one of the world’s largest crude oil importers. Iran derives a significant portion of its revenue from oil, and attacks on Kharg Island would not only harm Iran’s current government, but would undermine the viability of any successor that succeeds it.
Due to the US sanction against Iran’s nuclear program, there are limited buyers for Tehran’s crude oil. Data for 2025 from analysis firm Kpler showed that China bought more than 80% of the oil sent to Iran. On average, Beijing bought 1.38 million barrels per day of Iranian oil last year. Reuters reported.
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Does Iran have alternative ways to export its oil?
In addition to Kharg Island, which has been attacked by the United States, Iran has another terminal in Jask that it uses to ship oil and is located in the Gulf of Oman, outside the Strait of Hormuz. The Jask terminal opened in 2021 and was in use shortly before the war broke out in West Asia.
Notably, Jask has become a key alternative route for transporting oil in Iran in recent weeks, as the US military launched attacks on dozens of targets on Kharg Island. However, the drawback of the Jask terminal is that it has limited loading capacity, around one million barrels per day, half the capacity of the Kharg terminal.
