Military experts have cautioned that an attempt to seize Kharg Island from Iran would result in “disaster,” as it is a crucial point through which 90% of the country’s oil exports travel.
Such an action could expose U.S. troops to significant vulnerabilities and dramatically escalate tensions.
Donald Trump previously asserted that destroying or taking control of the island would quickly end the war, and earlier this month, he ordered attacks on military targets there while sparing the oil refineries.
However, analysts caution that this strategy could backfire, and a former US military official warned this will be “a disaster waiting to happen if that’s their mission,” he told MS NOW.
Vali Nasr, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, highlighted the potential repercussions, labelling it a “war of resistance.”
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He told MS Now: “Taking Kharg means destroying it, and Iran will respond with major escalation. Capturing Iranian territory and damaging its oil export facilities will mark the beginning of a war of resistance in Iran.”
Concerns also extend to the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for nearly 20% of global oil supplies, which Trump sought to reopen. Senator Richard Blumenthal warned that the 8,000 troops deployed would not suffice to secure the strait permanently and would remain vulnerable to drone and terrorist attacks.
Blumenthal said: “I strongly doubt 8,000 troops would be enough to take, hold and secure the territory necessary to truly secure the Strait of Hormuz.
“They’d be extremely vulnerable to drone and terrorist attacks, the longer they stay.
Nicole Grajewski of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace echoed these warnings, describing the plan as “far more difficult” than the administration seems to grasp, citing the small, compressed geography of Kharg and the strait.
Grajewski warned: “I think that is a far more difficult military mission than the administration understands. It’s such a small and compressed area.”
Experts believe that instead of ending the conflict, seizing Kharg Island could heighten tensions, provoke Iranian retaliation, and embroil U.S. forces in a prolonged and high-risk military operation.
There is now new concerns about a potential global energy crisis after Iran indicated it might target Western vessels in the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
This strait is a crucial chokepoint that connects Asia to Europe via the Suez Canal.
According to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, the Yemeni Ansarullah movement is “fully prepared” to control the strait in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes.
The source told the publication: “If there is a need to control the Bab al-Mandab Strait to further punish the enemy, the heroes of Yemeni Ansarullah are fully prepared to play a key role.”
A military source stated that “in case the enemy decides to take provocative measures in southern Iran, new fronts could open that will surprise the enemy.”
