Weeks after conducting massive airstrikes, the Trump administration is now considering plans to occupy or blockade Iran's Kharg Island to pressure Tehran
to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reported, citing four sources with knowledge of the issue. Such an operation, if approved, would also require more troops, and three different Marine units are on their way to the region, according to the report. The White House and the Pentagon are considering sending even more troops soon, a US official said. An operation to take over Kharg Island, which sits 15 miles offshore and processes 90% of Iran's crude oil exports, could put US troops more directly in the line of fire, Axios reported. Moreover, such an operation would only be launched after the US military further degrades Iran's military capacity around the Strait of Hormuz. "We need about a month to weaken the Iranians more with strikes, take the island and then get them by the balls and use it for negotiations," a source with knowledge of the White House thinking told the portal. According to a senior administration official, Trump wants Hormuz open, and if he has to take Kharg Island to make it happen, that's going to happen. "If he decides to have a coastal invasion, that's going to happen. But that decision hasn't been made," a senior administration official told Axios. "We've always had boots on the ground in conflicts under every president, including Trump. I know this is a fixation in the media, and I get the politics, but the president is going to do what's right," a second senior official said, adding that no decision had been made.
Why Kharg island is crucial for Iran
Despite its small footprint, Kharg Island functions as the central hub of Iran’s crude oil exports. An extensive terminal on the island handles the vast majority of the country’s overseas oil shipments. Iran exports its crude by pumping it from its fields to Kharg Island, where it sits in storage tanks until it is loaded onto huge tankers. From the island’s deep-water piers, the tankers leave, travel south through the Persian Gulf, go around the critical Strait of Hormuz, and then generally head toward Asia. Among the major Iranian crude importers, China is one of the biggest consumers of Iranian crude.
Days ago, US forces struck military installations located on Kharg Island, including missile storage facilities, naval mine depots and other defence-related infrastructure.
The operation was carried out by United States Central Command, which said dozens of military targets were hit while deliberately avoiding the island’s oil export facilities.
