Donald Trump is considering plans to occupy an island north-west of the Strait of Hormuz, according to US sources.
The Trump administration is reportedly considering whether to occupy Iran’s Kharg Island to pile pressure on Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, four sources with knowledge of the matter have told US outlet Axios.
Kharg Island is located in the Persian Gulf, around 16 miles off the coast of Iran and around 300 miles north-west of the Strait of Hormuz. The islands processes about 90 per cent of Iran’s crude oil exports.
“He wants Hormuz open. 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 the outlet.
Given that occupying or blockading the island would put US troops at great risk, such an operation would only be launched after the US military has weakened Iran’s military capacity around the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reports.
“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 told the outlet.
It comes as three different Marine units are making their way to the region. Last Friday, the US military conducted massive airstrikes on dozens of military targets on the island.
Kharg Island Terminal is the beating heart of Iran’s oil export system. For decades, it has been essential in connecting Iran’s vast oil reserves with the global market.
The infrastructure on island is impressive, with massive storage tanks and pipelines built to handle millions of barrels of crude oil daily. Large oil tankers regularly dock there, transporting oil extracted from fields in southwestern Iran. The setup allows Iran to manage its exports efficiently, even when faced with sanctions.
Historically, Kharg Island has been through difficult times, including being targeted during the eight-year Iran-Iraq War due to its critical role in Iran’s economy.