US President Donald Trump recently issued threats to expand attacks on Kharg Island in Iran and other vital civilian infrastructure across the nation.
Trump stated during a NATO summit in Turkey, “We hit Kharg Island last night, damaging part of it. I advised, ‘Leave the oil alone; we might take control of Kharg Island.’”
He added, “I instructed, ‘Don’t strike the pipelines, just target everything else.’ They executed that plan and might do so again tonight.”
This isn’t the first occasion where the US leader has expressed a desire to “take” the island.
Kharg Island serves as an economic lifeline for Tehran, handling about 90% of Iran’s crude oil exports.
Roughly one-third the size of Manhattan, officials have labeled the island as the “hub of Iran’s oil supply.” Its extended jetties reach into surrounding deep waters, allowing supertankers to dock, making it a crucial site for oil distribution.
According to earlier reports, CNN stated that officials have considered options for seizing Kharg Island or conducting bombing raids to effectively dismantle its oil infrastructure. The administration has also explored the possibility of taking over strategically significant islands nearby to diminish Iran’s capacity to threaten vessels navigating the strait.
White House officials believe that capturing the island could “totally bankrupt” Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as reported by CNN.
In April, the US announced it had struck military positions on Kharg Island; however, these strikes did not target any oil facilities, according to a US official.
While Trump had claimed that Kharg wasn’t “a high priority,” he has expressed interest in the island since as early as 1988, long before his presidency.
