Why Taking Kharg Island Could Put US Troops in Greater Danger
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to seize Iran’s Kharg Island, a small rocky outcrop that processes 90 percent of Iran’s crude oil exports. But military analysts warn that a ground invasion of the heavily fortified terminal could place American troops in serious danger.
Kharg Island sits about 15 nautical miles off Iran’s coast. Its deep‑water jetties handle the vast majority of Iran’s oil revenue, much of which funds the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The US has already bombed the island — in March, Trump called it “one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East” — destroying more than 90 military targets while deliberately sparing oil infrastructure.
Yet occupying the island is a different matter. Experts Ryan Brobst and Cameron McMillan of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told Reuters that a seizure “is more likely to expand and extend the war than it is to deliver any sort of decisive victory.” Joseph Votel, a former commander of US Central Command, told TWZ.com that while 800 to 1,000 troops could hold the island, they would require massive logistical support and remain “very vulnerable.”
Iran has reinforced the island with shoulder‑fired missiles, anti‑personnel and anti‑armor mines, and additional military personnel. Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that Iranian forces are “waiting” and will “rain fire” on any US troops attempting to land. Analysts also note that American soldiers would be exposed to camera‑equipped drones, which Tehran could use to broadcast “the graphic deaths of American service members as propaganda.”
Iran has further threatened to target shipping in the Red Sea and critical regional infrastructure, such as desalination plants, if a ground invasion occurs. Trump himself has questioned whether the American people have “the stomach” for putting boots on the ground, even as he vows to take the island to “assume total control of their Oil and Gas Markets.”
For now, the president has canceled new airstrikes, citing progress in negotiations with Tehran. But the dangers of a ground assault remain stark.
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