President Trump asserted Saturday that the U.S. military had "destroyed 100% of Iran's Military capability," and that American forces had on Friday bombed the crucial oil sea port, Kharg Island.
Trump said the strikes had sought to avoid damaging the island's oil facilities, which has become a major focal point during the war as concerns have grown globally about Iran's energy exports.
Kharg Island sits 15 miles off Iran's southern coast and is critical to the country's oil-dependent economy. Roughly 90 percent of Iran's export crude oil passes through the island.
In a Truth Social post Friday evening, Trump wrote that "for reasons of decency, I have chosen NOT to wipe out the Oil Infrastructure on the island." But the president warned that if Iran "or anyone else" decided to interfere with the passage of ships in the Strait of Hormuz, he would "immediately reconsider this decision."
Also on Saturday, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad once more renewed a call for Americans to leave Iraq, after a drone strike hit the embassy compound in the capital's heavily guarded Green Zone.
On Friday, the U.S. military had said that all six crew members on a KC-135 refuelling aircraft had been killed when it went down in Iraq.
The crash brings the U.S. military death toll to 13, seven of whom have been killed by enemy fire. Eight U.S. service members have been severely injured, according to the Pentagon.
Meanwhile President Trump and his defense secretary have touted the success of what they call Operation Epic Fury.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday that joint U.S.-Israeli military strikes have hit more than 15,000 targets, and also injured the country's new supreme leader.
President Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said the U.S. is "totally destroying" Iran's regime, militarily and economically.
Both men have also complained about negative media coverage of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
The humanitarian toll also deepened as the total number of people displaced by the fighting in Iran and Lebanon reached into the millions.
Iranian and Lebanese health officials reported more than 1,300 people had been killed in Iran, and 773 people in Lebanon. Israeli authorities said 12 civilians had been killed in Israel, and two of the country's soldiers killed in Lebanon.
Here are further updates about the conflict.
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Trump asks other countries to assist | Americans told to leave Iraq | U.S. casualties | More war ahead
Trump calls on other countries to assist
Writing on social media on Saturday, Trump said the U.S. bombing of Kharg Island had been internationally beneficial, saying "many countries" affected by oil disruptions would be sending war ships to work with United States to keep the Strait of Hormuz open.
"Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint, will send Ships to the area so that the Hormuz Strait will no longer be a threat by a Nation that has been totally decapitated," he wrote on Truth Social.
Last night, U.S. forces executed a large-scale precision strike on Kharg Island, Iran. The strike destroyed naval mine storage facilities, missile storage bunkers, and multiple other military sites. U.S. forces successfully struck more than 90 Iranian military targets on Kharg… pic.twitter.com/2X1glD4Flt
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 14, 2026
"In the meantime, the United States will be bombing the hell out of the shoreline, and continually shooting Iranian Boats and Ships out of the water," he continued.
U.S. Central Command said the targeted strikes had destroyed multiple military facilities on the island without compromising its oil infrastructure.
U.S. Embassy in Baghdad reiterates Americans should "leave Iraq immediately"
In a post on social media, the U.S. embassy in Baghdad once more warned Americans to leave Iraq immediately after an airstrike early Saturday hit a radar installation on the embassy compound in the capital's heavily guarded Green Zone.
No casualties were reported. An Iraqi security official told NPR the strike hit a radar installation inside the embassy compound. He asked for anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
"U.S. citizens who choose to remain in Iraq are encouraged to reconsider their decision given the significant threat posed by Iran-aligned terrorist militias," the embassy wrote.
Iran-backed militias have been attacking U.S. bases and other targets in Iraq since Iran began to retaliate against U.S. and Israeli strikes at the start of the war.
Israel continues operations in Lebanon
The Israeli Air Force wrote on X that Israel's military, the Israeli Defense Forces — or IDF — had Friday completed "several" additional strike waves targeting Hezbollah in Beirut and southern Lebanon.
"Since the start of Operation 'Roar of the Lion,' the IDF has been striking headquarters of the terrorist organization Hezbollah on a broad scale, impairing the organization's command and control capabilities, its economic situation, and the munitions at its disposal," it wrote.
"The IDF is acting forcefully against the terrorist organization Hezbollah, which chose to join the campaign and operate under the auspices of the Iranian terror regime, and will act against anyone who threatens the citizens of the State of Israel and the residents of the North in particular."
U.S. casualties rise and additional Marines head to Mideast
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Friday all six crew members died when their refueling aircraft went down over Iraq.
CENTCOM, which oversees the U.S. military's Middle East operations, initially reported an unspecified incident involving two aircraft Thursday. It said the U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft was lost in western Iraq, while the other landed safely. It is investigating the circumstances but confirmed the "loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire."
NPR has also confirmed that an additional 2,200 U.S. Marines are heading to the Middle East.
The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit based in Okinawa, Japan, aboard the USS Tripoli, an amphibious assault ship, will join an armada of ships taking part in the Iran war, a source told NPR on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The source did not specify what role the Marines will play.
The deployment was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
— NPR's National Security Desk
Officials brace for an end without a deal — and the risk of a "war routine"
A senior official in the region, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal deliberations, told NPR they expected the war to last at least another week, and that Israeli leaders increasingly believe the U.S. and Israel will end the war unilaterally, without a negotiated agreement. In such a scenario, the official said, Iran and allied groups, including the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Houthi rebels in Yemen, could establish a new normal of intermittent fire at Israel, prompting repeated Israeli retaliation.
The official said that kind of tit-for-tat exchange would leave Israelis living with an intolerable "war routine" even if the intensity of the conflict fades.
The official also said Israel is not ruling out an expanded ground operation in southern Lebanon, but described Israel as holding back so far from striking broad civilian infrastructure, largely because the U.S. sees Lebanon as a partner.
— Daniel Estrin, Carrie Kahn
Arezou Rezvani contributed to this report from Erbil in Iraq's Kurdish region.
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