Trump won’t rule out Kharg Island takeover: What a US assault could look like

Hundreds of U.S. Marines tempest ashore arsenic helicopters thunder overhead, Navy warships and combatant jets found overwhelming aerial and oversea superiority, and commanders contented 1 last informing to Iranian forces: surrender oregon beryllium overrun.

That is however subject experts envision the opening hours of a imaginable U.S. cognition to prehend Iran's Kharg Island—the tiny but strategically captious land that handles astir 90% of the Islamic Republic's crude lipid exports and has go the centerpiece of Washington's economical unit run against Tehran.

The script was thrust backmost into the spotlight Tuesday aft President Donald Trump declined to regularisation retired taking the island. "I can't accidental that to you due to the fact that if I did, it would beryllium foolish," Trump told Fox News main overseas analogous Trey Yingst during an exclusive interrogation connected ‘Special Report’ erstwhile asked straight whether helium planned to prehend Kharg island. He added that erstwhile U.S. strikes intentionally avoided the island's lipid facilities due to the fact that they are "a chunk of the satellite economy."

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Satellite presumption of Kharg Island, located successful the Persian Gulf disconnected the seashore of Iran. (Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data 2024)

"There are a batch of ways to tegument this cat," Vice Adm. (Ret.) Robert Harward, erstwhile lawman commandant of U.S. Central Command, told Fox News Digital successful an interview.

Harward explained a Marine Expeditionary Unit could behaviour an amphibious battle portion U.S. naval and aerial forces found implicit power implicit the battlespace, giving Iranian defenders an accidental to surrender earlier large warring begins. The goal, helium said, would not simply beryllium to seizure the land but to sphere the lipid infrastructure that could 1 time service a post-Islamic Republic government.

"The existent nonsubjective astatine the extremity of the time is to minimize risk," said Harward. "Not lone to your ain forces, but to the radical you're coming successful interaction with," portion besides limiting harm to facilities that could yet beryllium handed implicit to "a authorities of Iran that is focused connected supporting its people, arsenic opposed to proliferating the Islamic Revolution."

Trump's remarks echoed Harward's appraisal that preserving Kharg's lipid facilities would apt beryllium a cardinal subject objective. Trump said helium had instructed U.S. forces during erstwhile strikes to "hit everything, but the oil," explaining that damaging the export terminal could person important consequences for the planetary economy.

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U.S. forces behaviour a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the Veronica III without incidental successful the INDOPACOM country of work aft the vas allegedly tried to defy President Trump’s quarantine, Feb. 15, 2026. (X/@DeptofWar)

But subject experts accidental capturing Kharg whitethorn beryllium the easiest portion of the mission.

Located conscionable 16 miles disconnected Iran's Gulf coast, the eight-square-mile land sits good wrong scope of Iranian missiles, drones and shore-based anti-ship weapons. While analysts judge U.S. forces could apt prehend the land wrong hours, holding it against sustained retaliation from the adjacent mainland could necessitate a acold larger and longer subject commitment—raising the hazard of nonstop warfare with Iran itself.

Kharg's strategical value predates Iran's modern lipid industry. British forces concisely occupied the land during confrontations with Persia implicit Herat successful 1838 and again during the Anglo-Persian War successful 1856, utilizing its determination adjacent the Iranian seashore to use unit connected Tehran. Nearly a period later, Iran selected Kharg arsenic a deep-water lipid terminal due to the fact that its sheltered waters could accommodate ample tankers. Construction began successful the precocious 1950s, and the terminal entered work successful 1960, transforming the land into the main outlet for Iranian crude.

"Everybody talks astir seizing Kharg," Nicholas Carl, adjunct manager of the Critical Threats Project astatine the American Enterprise Institute, told Fox News Digital. "Iran has spent decades investing successful denial capabilities designed specifically to support U.S. forces distant from its shores." Those capabilities see anti-ship cruise missiles, drones, naval mines and hundreds of accelerated onslaught trade designed to overwhelm superior naval forces.

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A outer representation shows an lipid terminal astatine Kharg Island, Iran, February 25, 2026. (2026 Planet Labs PBC/Handout via Reuters)

Military planners person agelong viewed Iran's anti-access strategy arsenic 1 of the astir blase successful the Middle East. Rather than matching the U.S. Navy vessel for ship, Tehran has invested heavy successful asymmetric weapons intended to marque immoderate amphibious battle costly.

Harward, a erstwhile subordinate of the National Security Council and existent subordinate of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America's Iran Policy Project, acknowledged that erstwhile American forces were connected Kharg, the superior information would displacement from accepted naval combat to rocket and drone attacks launched from the adjacent mainland.

"Iran doesn't truly person aerial power," Harward said. "The interest is whether they motorboat missiles and drones astatine the land with U.S. forces connected the ground. That's the biggest risk."

Harward said the viability of the cognition would yet beryllium connected quality astir the fig and disposition of Iranian forces, whether they had prepared booby traps oregon improvised explosive devices, and however Tehran mightiness respond erstwhile American troops were ashore.

Still, helium argued, specified retaliation would travel astatine a terms for Tehran.

"If they commencement striking Kharg itself, they go accountable for damaging their ain economical lifeline," helium said.

The situation illustrates the favoritism betwixt tactical occurrence and strategical success. Seizing an eight-square-mile land is 1 subject problem. Defending it against sustained attacks lone a abbreviated region from Iranian territory is another.

A wide presumption of the Port of Kharg Island Oil Terminal, 25 km from the Iranian seashore successful the Persian Gulf and 483 km northwest of the Strait of Hormuz, successful Iran connected March 12, 2017. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Harward suggested Washington inactive has respective options abbreviated of launching an amphibious assault.

With the U.S.-led blockade, reinforced Tuesday, already constraining Iran's lipid exports, helium argued that further economical unit could people overland proscription routes, borderline crossings and aerial postulation alternatively of committing crushed troops.

"There is inactive a batch you could bash to heighten the economical challenges to Iran," Harward said. "Synchronizing military, economical and governmental unit is truly the strategy."

Some strategists person besides questioned whether Kharg is the astir invaluable subject objective.

Mark Fox, a retired Vice Admiral and a erstwhile commandant of the 5th Fleet, antecedently told Fox News Digital that Kharg is fundamentally an lipid terminal alternatively than a subject fortress. Instead, helium argued, smaller islands specified arsenic Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa—disputed islands adjacent the Strait of Hormuz—could contiguous much manageable subject objectives portion creating a important strategical dilemma for Tehran due to the fact that of their determination on 1 of the world's astir important shipping lanes.

For Harward, however, the larger question extends beyond immoderate azygous island.

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Export lipid pipelines are seen astatine an lipid installation connected Kharg Island, connected the enactment of the Gulf, Feb. 23, 2016. (Str/AFP Via Getty Images)

"I deliberation the lone existent extremity authorities to guarantee semipermanent stableness and information successful the portion is simply a authorities of Iran that renounces the Islamic Revolution and focuses connected the Iranian people," helium said. That would necessitate ending Tehran's atomic ambitions, halting enactment for proxy groups, protecting state of navigation done the Strait of Hormuz and ending the regime's home repression.

Whether Washington ever decides to prehend Kharg, subject planners hold connected 1 point: Capturing Iran's economical lifeline would apt beryllium measured successful hours, but successfully holding it—and managing the determination escalation that could travel — would beryllium a acold longer and much analyzable campaign.