Smoke from an explosion rises behind demonstrators attending the annual anti-Israeli Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, rally in support of Palestinians in Tehran, Iran, on Friday. 
Mohammad Mahdi Dehghani/Fars News Agency/AP

The United States launched what it said were military strikes on an Iranian island critical to the country’s economy and oil exports Friday night, an attack that analysts warned raises the stakes as the US-Israel war entered its third week.

The strikes on Kharg Island, which a US official said avoided hitting vital oil infrastructure, comes as the economic fallout over the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz continues to grow and the Pentagon announced it is deploying a rapid response marine unit to the Middle East.

Here’s what to know on day 15.

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What are the main headlines?

• Kharg Island: US President Donald Trump said the US bombed “every military target” on the island, and threatened to attack its oil infrastructure if Iran continues blocking ships from the Strait of Hormuz. Kharg Island is a five-mile stretch of land in the Persian Gulf that handles roughly 90% of Iran’s crude exports. A US military official told CNN the strikes were “large-scale” and targeted naval mine storage facilities, missile storage bunkers and other military infrastructure.
• Raising the stakes: Iran’s ⁠Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf had earlier warned that the country would “abandon all restraint” if there is any US aggression against Iranian islands. A retired US army officer told CNN the Kharg Island strikes could ultimately send oil prices “out of control.”
• Strait of Hormuz: Trump said Friday he believes US Navy escorts for tankers through the critical waterway will happen “soon.” Separately, a senior Iranian official told CNN that Tehran is considering allowing some vessels to pass through the strait, provided the cargo is traded in Chinese yuan.
• Fuel crisis: Global oil prices settled at their highest level on Friday since July 2022 as anxiety about the effective closure of the strait continued across global markets. Countries are planning to dip into oil reserves as they grapple with the crisis.
• Marines heading to region: The Pentagon is deploying a Marine Expeditionary Unit to the Middle East, a rapid response unit that typically comprises around 2,500 Marines and sailors, officials told CNN. It’s not yet clear what the MEU will be used for or where exactly it will be deployed.