Iran is pressing ahead with the completion of development and infrastructure projects at its Kharg Island oil terminal, a senior Oil Ministry official said, as the United States continues to threaten to seize the island that handles the bulk of the country’s crude exports, Shana News Agency reported on July 28.

Abbas Assadrouz, head of the Iranian Oil Terminals Co. (IOTC), made the remarks during a visit to the strategic island in the Persian Gulf, through which about 90% of Iran’s crude oil exports are shipped.

“These projects aim to enhance safety, increase equipment reliability, boost operational readiness and ensure the sustainable continuity of the country’s oil exports,” Assadrouz said.

Among the projects he inspected was a fire detection and firefighting system for crude oil storage tanks.

Assadrouz described the scheme as one of the country’s most important safety upgrade projects at oil terminals, saying it was being installed to safeguard national assets, improve facility safety, reduce operational risks and increase preparedness for emergency response.

Iran’s accelerated work on the fire protection system comes after Kharg Island was bombed twice by the United States following the outbreak of the joint US-Israeli war against Iran in late February.

US President Donald Trump said at the time that none of the island’s oil facilities had been targeted in the air strikes.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to occupy Kharg Island. In his latest threat on July 26, he posted an AI-generated image on his Truth Social platform depicting US warplanes pounding the island’s oil installations.

Iran has warned it would hit back against any strike on its oil infrastructure by targeting oil facilities in regional countries allied with the US from which American forces launch attacks against Iran.

There are growing fears about global energy supplies should key oil infrastructure in Iran or other Persian Gulf producers come under fire.

Kharg lies about 25 kilometres off Iran’s coast. The 20-square-kilometre coral island’s proximity to the mainland would make any occupation highly risky, as Iranian forces could shower occupying forces with volleys of missiles and drones from the mainland, potentially inflicting heavy casualties on them.

Kharg’s location close to southern oilfields, favourable maritime position and deep-water access for very large crude carriers have made it the hub of Iran’s crude loading operations. The island hosts the country’s largest oil storage facilities and is connected to its biggest producing fields.