US President Donald Trump said American forces have "totally obliterated" military sites on Iran's strategic Kharg Island in "one of the most powerful bombing raids" in Middle East history and he said the US Navy would soon begin escorting vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
"Moments ago, at my direction, the United States Central Command executed one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East, and totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran’s crown jewel, Kharg Island," Trump wrote on social media.
"Our Weapons are the most powerful and sophisticated that the World has ever known but, for reasons of decency, I have chosen NOT to wipe out the Oil Infrastructure on the Island," he added.
SEE ALSO: Is The US Considering Seizing Iran's Kharg Island?He warned Tehran, however, that should Iran "or anyone else" do anything to impede shipping through the strait, he would "reconsider" the decision not to destroy oil sites on the island.
Iran's Kharg Island is the country's main oil export outlet, serving as the terminal for about 90 percent of its oil exports. It is located about 24 kilometers off the Iranian coast and some 480 kilometers north of the Strait of Hormuz.
There was no immediate damage report from the strike. Tehran did not comment directly on Trump's comments, but the military threatened to attack US-linked oil sites in the region if any Iranian energy infrastructure is hit.
The remarks come as the Pentagon began beefing up its forces in the Middle East, sending a new assault ship with a Marine expeditionary unit aboard after Trump vowed intensified attacks in the upcoming week.
Senior defense officials told RFE/RL on March 13 that the Pentagon is sending a Marine contingent -- likely about 2,500 personnel -- aboard the USS Tripoli assault ship.
SEE ALSO: Iranian Woman Describes Life In Wartime TehranRFE/RL reached out to the White House and was referred to US Central Command, which is responsible for American forces in the Middle East. CENTCOM did not immediately comment.
Axios, which also reported the Marine deployment, said the Pentagon is sending the guided-missile cruiser USS Robert Smalls and guided-missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta to the region along with the Tripoli.
"We’re going to be hitting them very hard over the next week,” Trump said.
Ready And Willing To Escort
Trump earlier said the United States was prepared and willing to escort ships through the crucial Strait of Hormuz to protect them from Iranian attack, a move other Western nations also have said they are contemplating.
When asked later when the US Navy would begin escorting tankers, Trump told reporters, "It will happen soon," although he gave no timeframe.
SEE ALSO: Trump Says US Spared Kharg Oil Infrastructure -- For NowThe US administration is scrambling to stem the surge in global oil prices following the disruptions stemming from the US-Israeli air strikes on Iran, which began on February 28, and Tehran’s subsequent retaliatory missile and drone launches on US Gulf Arab allies and other countries.
Paris Also Ponders Escort Duty
France is also developing plans to form a coalition to secure the Strait of Hormuz once the security situation stabilizes, Reuters cited two unnamed French officials as saying.
Amid the rise in energy prices, European powers are seeking ways to protect their ships transiting the strait. France has joined Italy in seeking a diplomatic deal with Iran to allow their vessels to safely transit the waterway, one official said.
Reuters, citing sources, reported that Iran has allowed two Indian-flagged liquefied petroleum gas carriers to sail through the strait, representing a rare exception to Tehran's policy of harassing ship traffic.
Iranian Leaders On The Streets
Several senior Iranian officials, including President Masud Pezeshkian, took to the streets of Tehran on March 13 for the annual Al-Quds Day rally in support of the Palestinian cause despite an intense wave of air strikes by the United States and Israel.
SEE ALSO: Top Iranian Officials Take To The Streets In Tehran As Hegseth Warns Of Intense US-Israeli Air AttacksStriking a defiant tone, judiciary chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei, national police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, also joined thousands of Iranians in the capital, state TV images showed, as plumes of smoke rose from sites around the city.
Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei -- who succeeded his father, who was killed in the initial US-Israeli air strikes -- remained out of sight amid questions about his physical condition.
US defense chief Pete Hegseth said Khamenei was likely wounded and disfigured in the air strike that killed his father, and he questioned Khamenei's ability to govern amid the US and Israeli attacks on Iran.
Early on March 14, large explosions were heard again in central Tehran, although details were not immediately available.
US Mourns Deaths Of Plane Crew
The United States is also mourning the latest deaths to US service personnel following what appeared to be a midair collision of two KC-135 refueling aircraft over western Iraq.
CENCOMM on March 13 said all six crew members had died in the incident, which involved another refueling tanker and did not involve hostile or friendly fire.
The incident brought the confirmed number of US deaths in the war to 13, with several dozen reported to be injured, mostly in various Iranian missile launches targeting US military bases in the Gulf region.
France also mourned the death of a soldier indirectly linked to the war in Iran.
French military photo shows Chief Warrant Officer Arnaud Frion, who was killed in a drone attack in Iraq.
President Emmanuel Macron confirmed that a drone strike killed a French soldier in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region while assisting Iraqi forces on antiterrorism missions.
"The war in Iran cannot justify such attacks," he said.
The 42-year-old soldier's commander initially said the projectile was an Iranian-made Shahed attack drone. But a military spokesman later said it was "premature" to identify the specific model of drone or launch site, adding that an investigation is ongoing.
France is not participating directly in the US-Israeli war effort.
Iranian Launches Continue
Iran continued to launch strikes against Israel, with the Israeli military saying early on March 14 that "defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat."
Turkey reported that an Iranian missile was intercepted by NATO defenses over its territory, the third such incident since the start of the war.
SEE ALSO: US-Israeli Bombing Of Iran's Energy Infrastructure Marks New Escalation In WarAnkara said its "top priority" was to avoid being dragged into the war.
"We are acting very cautiously against plots, traps and provocations that seek to drag our country into war," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, pledging an "appropriate and measured" response after the missile launch.
"Keeping our country out of this fire pit is our top priority," he said.
Blasts were heard, meanwhile, in Qatar early on March 14, with the Interior Ministry saying it was evacuating some key areas.