The five-mile-long coral island - twice the size of London's Heathrow Airport - is in the north of the Persian Gulf, 16 miles (26km) from Iran's coast and roughly 300 miles (483km) north of the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway through which 20% of global oil flows, that Tehran has shut down.

President Trump said US forces "obliterated" military targets on Kharg Island, but significantly said he chose not to "wipe out" the island's oil infrastructure. He threatened that this could change if Iran interfered with the safe passage of ships through the strait.

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Tehran warned of a new level of retaliation if the oil infrastructure on Kharg was damaged, vowing on Saturday that Iranian forces would destroy the oil and gas infrastructure of companies cooperating with the US in the region if its sites were targeted, according to Iranian state media.

But why is the island so important?

Why was no oil infrastructure hit?

Kharg is the export terminal for 90% of Iran's oil shipments and has the capacity to load around seven million barrels a day.

The island can handle as many as 10 supertankers at the same time, as its waters are deep enough to enable the docking of tankers that are too large to approach mainland Iran's shallow coastal waters.

Before the war, the island handled most of Iran's roughly 1.7 million barrels of crude exports per day, with the majority of it going to China.

Iranian oil accounts for 11.6% ​of China's seaborne imports so far in 2026, according to tanker tracker Kpler. "Therefore, if [Mr Trump] was to take that out, he might risk the ire of China," Sky News' military analyst Sean Bell said.

Hitting Kharg's oil infrastructure would also likely lead to oil prices surging even further, after they hit a four-year high on Friday.

Oil exports continuing despite war

In the week before the war broke out, Kharg shipped a record of 3.79 million barrels per day, and operations on the island have continued despite the conflict.

About 13.7 million barrels of oil have been exported from the island since the US-Israeli strikes were launched on 28 February, at a rate of 1.1 million to 1.5 million barrels per day, according to maritime intelligence company TankerTrackers.com and Kpler data.

Multiple tankers were still loading there on Wednesday, according to satellite pictures from Tanker Trackers.

Kharg has storage tanks in the south, along with housing for thousands of workers. It has a storage capacity of roughly 30 million barrels, and held about 18 million barrels of crude as of early March, ⁠according to ​a JP Morgan report citing Kpler data.

Critical to funding of Iranian government

The island has long been seen as a key vulnerability that would provoke a severe response by Tehran if attacked.

Kharg is critical to funding Iran's government and military, and if Iran were to lose control of the island, it would be difficult for the country to function, according to Petras Katinas, an energy researcher at the Royal United Services Institute.

Mr Katinas said a takeover would give the US leverage over negotiations with Iran because the island is "the main node" of its economy.

While there has been speculation that the US could be tempted to seize Kharg Island, experts say that would almost certainly require troops on the ground, making it extremely risky.

One Iranian politician has reportedly already threatened US troops with capture if they attempt to seize its crucial oil hub.

JP Morgan's global commodity research team stressed the wider economic implications of a direct strike on the island, warning before the US struck military targets on Kharg that strikes would "immediately halt the bulk of Iran's crude exports, likely triggering severe retaliation in the Strait of Hormuz or against regional energy infrastructure".

"You take out ​Kharg infrastructure, then you take two million [barrels per day] out of the market for good - not until the Straits get fixed," added Dan Pickering, chief investment officer for Pickering Energy Partners.

Damage to the island

Iranian state media reported that no oil infrastructure was damaged in the US strikes, adding that air defences, a naval base, airport control tower, and a helicopter hangar were targeted.

The US "successfully struck" more than 90 military targets, including naval mine storage facilities and missile storage bunkers, the US Central Command said.

The 55 crude oil storage tanks, which can hold more than 34 million barrels, are "most likely unscathed", Tanker Trackers said.

"Although the island has some offshore oil production, the bulk of the oil actually derives from the mainland via multiple pipelines," the tracking service said.

"The island first began exporting oil during the summer of 1960 and was built to [accommodate] 7 million barrels per day in exports, to reflect the potential in oil production. Iran hit 6.6 [million barrels per day] in production back in 1976."

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The maritime intelligence company added that satellite imagery from Saturday showed two new tankers began loading 2.7 million barrels of crude oil there.

Activities on the island, including exports and imports, are "proceeding normally" after the strikes, the deputy governor of Bushehr, a port city close to Kharg, said, adding that no military personnel, oil company employees or island residents were killed.

Was the island targeted before?

Despite being viewed as a critical vulnerability, the island has rarely been directly targeted.

The last time was during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, but it did not stop crude oil exports from Kharg.

"When Saddam Hussein raided the island numerous times 40 years ago and destroyed a number of storage tanks, Kharg Island was still able to export over 1.5 million barrels per day," Tanker Trackers said in a post on X.

The city's mayor Femke Halsema said she believed the blast was a "deliberate attack against the Jewish community".

The incident happened early on Saturday, and police and fire services responded quickly.

Damage to the school in a residential neighbourhood on the south side ​of Amsterdam was limited.

And no injuries have been reported.

Police are investigating camera footage appearing to show the person who detonated the explosive.

"This ​is a cowardly act ​of aggression against the Jewish community," Ms ​Halsema said.

"Jewish people in Amsterdam are ⁠increasingly confronted with antisemitism. This is unacceptable."

Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten ​called the attack in Amsterdam "horrible" and said it understandably ⁠caused "fear and
anger" in the Jewish community.

"The safety of Jewish institutions has our full attention," he said in a ⁠post on X.

Tight security at Jewish schools and institutions has been strengthened even more following attacks in recent days on synagogues in Rotterdam and in Liege, Belgium.

There was also an attack on a synagogue in West Bloomfield, near Detroit in Michigan on Thursday, where a Lebanese-born US citizen allegedly rammed his car into the building.

Authorities said the attacker, who was armed with a rifle, was fatally shot at Temple Israel.

None of the synagogue's staff, teachers or the 140 children at its early childhood centre were injured.

Federal investigators said the Michigan incident was an act of violence targeting the Jewish community.

Fears about possible attacks against Jewish ⁠communities around the world have ​increased following US-Israeli ​airstrikes on Iran and a subsequent military response from Tehran.

John Brackenbury died in 2016 after doctors at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge prioritised another patient for treatment.

Despite several recommendations being made after John's death, whistleblowers at the hospital have told Sky News that changes didn't happen.

Mr Brackenbury's daughter, Jenny Dunk, said it's "despicable" that lessons weren't learnt from his death.

"Nobody cared, nobody saw dad as a human being, you know, they're all about kind of looking after themselves and their own egos and protecting each other," Jenny said.

John was admitted to Addenbrooke's in November 2016 after suffering a brain haemorrhage, which needed treatment within 48 hours.

His family were initially relieved when he was transferred to the hospital, which has a world-leading neuroscience department.

But clinicians unexpectedly chose to operate on a different patient.

"We were told that there was an unfortunate sequence of events and they took the wrong person. They took an 85-year-old Mrs B instead of a 70-year-old Mr B," John's widow Jean explained.

John's operation was delayed until the following day, but he died overnight.

His daughter Jenny said: "He was just left in a bed, nil-by-mouth, and abandoned."

John's death was avoidable, but his family had to fight for answers and an apology.

His widow describes John's treatment as "completely cruel".

"There didn't seem to be any communication whatsoever between the surgical staff and the ward staff," Jean said.

An inquest and an investigation by Addenbrooke's both found failings and made recommendations for the neurosciences team.

But whistleblowers at the hospital told us those changes were not made.

We heard that almost a decade after John died, the toxic culture and disorganisation remain, and that means patient safety is still a problem.

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Sky News recently revealed the trust has ordered a rapid review of the neurosciences service after concerns were raised.

This is the second time we've uncovered reviews being ordered into departments at the world-renowned hospital.

An investigation is still under way into the suspended surgeon Kuldeep Stohr after serious issues with some of her operations on children.

Both cases raise questions about whether managers could have acted sooner.

And this is what makes John's family angry.

His daughter told us: "I'm furious and cross. It feels like his death was in vain. We didn't want that; we wanted to protect other people.

"The fact that I'm hearing nearly 10 years on nothing has changed, I just think it is absolutely despicable. There's no accountability," she said.

Dr Sue Broster, chief medical officer at Cambridge University Hospitals, said: "We remain saddened by Mr Brackenbury's death, and our thoughts are with his family.

"We are committed to learning any lessons we can from his family's experience to improve the service we offer to patients, and would welcome the opportunity to discuss this with his family.

"The trust recognises that our decision to commission an external review into our neurosciences services has caused concern for Mr Brackenbury's family and for some of our patients, and we are sorry for the distress this has caused."

John's family are now considering whether to meet the trust.

It comes after the National Trust in September called on artists, organisations and creative agencies to present their ideas for the future of the landmark using half its timber.

The tree stood for more than a century in a natural dip along Hadrian's Wall, Northumberland, before being illegally cut down in September 2023.

Last July, Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers were each jailed for more than four years for criminal damage to the Sycamore Gap.

The public's vote, which opens on Saturday and lasts until 28 March - will contribute to 30% of the final decision, while a judging panel of art and nature experts will make up 70%.

The winner will be announced later in the spring.

The six artists or collaborations are Alex Hartley and Tom James, based in Devon and London, Helix Arts x George King Architects, based in the North East, Mary Dalton, based in Hampshire, non zero one, based in London, Sam Williams Studio, based in Sussex, and Trigger, based in Bristol.

• Alex Hartley and Tom James - Viewpoint. Viewpoint is an elevated platform, made from the Sycamore Gap wood, which will lift people up into the space where the tree once stood - before going on a national tour. The artists want to use this platform - and the power of this wood - to hold a conversation about the future of the UK. They say: "Come and climb the Viewpoint and get a new perspective on the country."

• Helix Arts x George King Architects - The People's Tree: A Shared Story. A community engagement programme across the north of England, building an archive of stories, national touring exhibition and a sound sculpture near the Gap where people can listen and reflect on what the tree meant to the region and the nation.

• Mary Dalton - Sycamore Gap Black. Using the wood to create artists' materials - including charcoal, inks and pigments - leading to the production of new works and a resulting touring exhibition that shares the story of the tree across the UK.

• non zero one - SEEDS. A nationwide artwork where participants enter a lottery to receive a specially made sycamore seed inlaid with wood from the tree, and take part in an interactive experience, inviting them to connect with nature and consider our changing landscapes.

• Sam Williams Studio - Stories of 1,000 Trees. A nationwide storytelling project collecting the stories of 1,000 trees and bringing them back to Sycamore Gap, creating a shared space for reflection, memory, and reconnection with the landscape.

• Trigger - Twirl. An event at the gap - participants will carry large, paper wind-powered sycamore seeds in a live sonic experience: a sound bath made up of instruments made from the tree, a human chorus and a temporary wind harp installation. Participants will receive a special sycamore seed carved from the wood of the tree.

The artwork is expected to be completed by 2028.

Annie Reilly, National Trust public engagement director and chairwoman of the judging panel, said: "Over the past two years, we've heard extraordinary stories about what the Sycamore Gap tree meant to people - from moments of celebration and milestones to quiet memories of loss, connection and reflection.

"It became more than a tree; it became part of the emotional landscape of the nation."

Ms Reilly said the vote will give the public the opportunity to "help share the ongoing story".

"Each of the six proposals honours the tree in a different way, and we want people to choose the idea that captures what the Sycamore Gap tree meant to them," she said.

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People can cast up to three votes here by using a valid email address.

You can also have your say in our unofficial poll and see how other people voted.

Phil Woolas was MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth from 1997 until 2010 and held several ministerial posts under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

But his political career ended in controversy and disgrace when a court ruled he had broken electoral law by deliberately making false statements about his Liberal Democrat opponent.

His TV clash with national treasure Ms Lumley came when she led opposition to proposals by Brown's government in 2009 to restrict the rights of retired Gurkhas to settle in the UK.

At the time, he was a combative immigration minister in the Home Office and Ms Lumley was spearheading the Gurkhas Justice Campaign fighting Woolas's plans.

With Labour rebels joining Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs, the government suffered a humiliating defeat on the proposals in the Commons.

Then, after an original confrontation inside a TV studio in Westminster, the pair agreed to hold a joint news conference, which descended into chaos.

Broadcast live on Sky News and other channels, the actress appeared to persuade Woolas to accept that the Gurkhas' lawyers would draw up new guidelines.

And after dramatic scenes, Ms Lumley declared: "I have met Mr Woolas now and I am reassured again. Because I know we are going to assist Mr Woolas in making the strongest guidelines possible."

It was the defining moment of a life in politics that began when Woolas joined the Labour party at 16 and was president of the National Union of Students from 1984 to 1986.

Paying tribute, Defence Secretary John Healey, a close friend, told Sky News: "During the '80s and '90s many helped lay the foundations for New Labour, defeating the hard left and modernising the student movement, trade unions, media, Labour Party and Parliamentary Labour Party.

"No-one played a significant role in all these areas - except Phil.

"He was a highly regarded ministerial operator with friends across the political divide, despite being a fiercely loyal Labour man all his life."

After a short career as a TV producer, he became head of communications for the GMB union and masterminded one of the most high-profile stunts ever staged by a trade union.

In 1996, protesting against a 75% pay rise to £475,000 a year for British Gas boss Cedric Brown, the union took a live pig called Cedric to the firm's AGM to highlight "snouts in the trough".

After unsuccessfully fighting the Littleborough and Saddleworth by-election in 1995, he was elected in the 1997 Blair landslide and after a spell as a parliamentary bag-carrier began his ministerial career in 2003.

He was deputy Commons leader and a local government minister under Blair, then under Brown he became an environment minister and then immigration minister in 2008.

But throughout his career he was outspoken and often controversial and in 2010, after he held his seat by just 103 votes, he was served with an election petition by Lib Dem opponent Elwyn Watkins.

He lost the subsequent court case - in an election court that was the first of its kind for 99 years - and the judge ordered a re-run of the election.

The court ruled that Woolas knew statements he made about Watkins during the campaign were untrue and he was therefore guilty of illegal practices under election law.

A bitter Woolas said after the ruling: "Those who stand for election and participate in the democratic process must be prepared to have their political conduct and motives subjected to searching, scrutiny and inquiry.

"They must accept that their political character and conduct will be attacked."

But Labour's acting leader Harriet Harman announced his suspension from the party and said: "It is not part of Labour politics to try to win elections by saying things that are not true."

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After the controversial end to his career in parliament, Woolas formed a lobbying company with a former Conservative MP, Sir Sydney Chapman, and a former Liberal Democrat MP, Paul Keetch, both of whom later died.

He leaves a widow, Tracey Jane Allen, an events organiser and former co-director of a lobbying company. They met in 1982 through their activities in student politics and married in 1988.

They had two sons, Josh and Jed, and their first grandchild was born on 20 January, less than two months before Woolas's death. He is also survived by his mother and older brother.

Mr Healey added: "Phil was a passionate Manchester United season ticket holder, wine connoisseur, fisherman, raconteur with a photographic memory and warm and engaging personality.

"But he didn't suffer fools and was a principled fighter driven by the need to make a real change to society. His commitment to the Labour Party never wavered over 50 years, through many challenges."