What is the story about?
Sensing the possibility of an imminent US forces ground operation in Kharg Island, Iran has started laying traps and moving additional military personnel and air defences to the Island. Driven to the brink to devise ways to ease tensions amid a war impasse, the Trump administration has been weighing the possibility of using US troops to seize the tiny island in the northeastern Persian Gulf.
The Gulf has been an economic lifeline for Iran, it handles 90% of the country’s crude exports. US plans to use them as a leverage over Iranians to coerce them to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. While the plans for a ground operation are possibly in their nascent stages, US officials and military experts say there would be a significant risk involved in such an operation, and it may lead to a large number of US casualties.
In anticipation of further actions, Iranian defenses have moved additional shoulder-fired, surface-to-air guided missile systems, known as Manpads, there in recent weeks. Beyond that, Iran has been fortifying the island with anti-personnel and anti-armour mines. The Iranian forces are planning to keep a tight vigil on the shoreline, where US troops could possibly stage an amphibious landing if President Donald Trump plans to move forward with a ground operation.
Allies of the president have been raising the question about whether there is a need to attempt such an operation, since even taking the island would not resolve problems related to the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s stranglehold on the global energy market. The US military had previously targeted Kharg with strikes on March 13, Central Command says that during that raid 90 targets had been hit. This included a missile storage bunker and multiple military missile stores.
“Based on some data, Iran’s enemies, with the support of one of the regional countries, are preparing to occupy one of the Iranian islands,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf had posted on X, that “All enemy movements are under the full surveillance of our armed forces. If they step out of line, all the vital infrastructure of that regional country will, without restriction, become the target of relentless attacks.”
Allied Gulf states have also been privately urging the Trump administration against prolonging the war by putting boots on the ground to occupy Kharg Island or remove Iran’s highly enriched uranium at a nuclear facility that was previously bombed by US aircraft. Such an operation can result in high casualties, likely triggering Iranian retaliation against Gulf countries and prolonging the conflict.
Marine expeditionary units, which specialize in rapid-response amphibious landings, raids, and assault missions from Navy amphibious ships, have recently been deployed to the Middle East. These units include several thousand Marines, along with amphibious warships, aviation assets, and landing craft. They are most likely to be involved in an operation to take Kharg, the sources said. Approximately 1,000 US soldiers with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division are expected to be deployed in the region.
A CNN report further details how the US military planning has near-constant and persistent overhead surveillance of the island, so the American military is also aware of the fortifications and traps Iran has been spreading across the region.
The Gulf has been an economic lifeline for Iran, it handles 90% of the country’s crude exports. US plans to use them as a leverage over Iranians to coerce them to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. While the plans for a ground operation are possibly in their nascent stages, US officials and military experts say there would be a significant risk involved in such an operation, and it may lead to a large number of US casualties.
In anticipation of further actions, Iranian defenses have moved additional shoulder-fired, surface-to-air guided missile systems, known as Manpads, there in recent weeks. Beyond that, Iran has been fortifying the island with anti-personnel and anti-armour mines. The Iranian forces are planning to keep a tight vigil on the shoreline, where US troops could possibly stage an amphibious landing if President Donald Trump plans to move forward with a ground operation.
The Necessity for such an Operation?
Allies of the president have been raising the question about whether there is a need to attempt such an operation, since even taking the island would not resolve problems related to the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s stranglehold on the global energy market. The US military had previously targeted Kharg with strikes on March 13, Central Command says that during that raid 90 targets had been hit. This included a missile storage bunker and multiple military missile stores.
“Based on some data, Iran’s enemies, with the support of one of the regional countries, are preparing to occupy one of the Iranian islands,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf had posted on X, that “All enemy movements are under the full surveillance of our armed forces. If they step out of line, all the vital infrastructure of that regional country will, without restriction, become the target of relentless attacks.”
Allied Gulf states have also been privately urging the Trump administration against prolonging the war by putting boots on the ground to occupy Kharg Island or remove Iran’s highly enriched uranium at a nuclear facility that was previously bombed by US aircraft. Such an operation can result in high casualties, likely triggering Iranian retaliation against Gulf countries and prolonging the conflict.
Has US already initiated the ground attack plan?
Marine expeditionary units, which specialize in rapid-response amphibious landings, raids, and assault missions from Navy amphibious ships, have recently been deployed to the Middle East. These units include several thousand Marines, along with amphibious warships, aviation assets, and landing craft. They are most likely to be involved in an operation to take Kharg, the sources said. Approximately 1,000 US soldiers with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division are expected to be deployed in the region.
A CNN report further details how the US military planning has near-constant and persistent overhead surveillance of the island, so the American military is also aware of the fortifications and traps Iran has been spreading across the region.
