Vance reveals what Trump's 'smithereens' video was really meant to signal to Iran
WASHINGTON, DC: Vice President JD Vance said President Trump's dramatic Kharg Island video was meant to warn Iran that attacks on commercial shipping could bring consequences.
Vance said Iran was continuing to fire on commercial vessels, while the Trump administration had tools available to stop or reduce those attacks.
He spoke with reporters on Monday, August 31, at Joint Base Andrews after US forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island.
Q: On Iran, the president tweeted some AI-generated video of bombing Kharg Island. Why did he do that?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 31, 2026
JD VANCE: Well you know, the president likes to switch it up on social media a little bit. He's sending a message to the Iranians. pic.twitter.com/gHdmfnbr2T
JD Vance says Trump was sending Iran a message
Asked whether Trump's Kharg Island video was intended as a warning, Vance said the president was deliberately sending a message to Tehran.
"Look, we know that they continue to shoot at commercial shipping," Vance said. "We continue to have a lot of tools at our disposal to prevent them from doing so, or at least cut down on them from doing so."
Vance said Trump wanted Iran to understand that its actions could have consequences.
🔴President Trump just posted that Kharg Island is “being blown to smithereens.”
— Commentary Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) August 31, 2026
Kharg is Iran’s main oil-export hub in the Persian Gulf.
The post came as U.S. Iran fighting flared again around the Strait of Hormuz.
He has threatened Kharg for months and previously said U.S.… pic.twitter.com/cK6ilXsVM7
"And that's what the president is saying: is look, you guys are shooting at commercial shipping," Vance said. "You guys are behaving like a t*******t country, you've got to stop, and there's going to be some consequences."
Trump had posted the dramatic video on Truth Social with the message, "Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!! President DJT," but provided no further details.
Iran disputes Trump's Kharg Island claim
Iranian officials rejected the suggestion that Kharg Island had been destroyed.
Hamid Bovard, chief executive of government-run National Iranian Oil Co, said Monday, "Conditions in Kharg are calm and appropriate."
He added that oil operations had not stopped and workers were repairing previous damage and modernizing facilities.
Kharg handled 90% of Iran's oil exports before the war began with US and Israeli attacks on Feb 28.
Fighting resumed after strikes on Larak
The video appeared after US forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island Sunday, the first known American strikes against Iran since late July.
A US official said the launchers were targeted after Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command described the operation as "limited, precise" action against Iranian minelaying forces it said posed an "imminent threat" in the strait.
Iran responded by attacking two US bases in Jordan, according to Iranian media and officials.
Iranian forces also claimed to have struck Al Minhad air base in the United Arab Emirates, but the UAE Defense Ministry called that report false.
Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said his country was not seeking war but would respond to aggression.
"We will never remain silent in the face of any aggression...," state media quoted him as saying on Monday.
The renewed fighting also affected shipping.
A supertanker caught fire after being struck by two naval mines in the southern Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian state television, while visible commodity vessel traffic through the waterway fell to five ships a day over the weekend, according to shipping data.
