Trump thinking of taking over Iran’s Kharg Island: Axios
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- The White House is actively weighing a blockade or military occupation of Kharg Island—the terminal for 90% of Iran’s oil exports—to force the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, with one source telling Axios the goal is to "get them by the balls" for negotiations.
- While no final decision on a "coastal invasion" has been made, the Pentagon has already dispatched three Marine units to the region, and President Trump warned that the US could "take out the island anytime," noting that strikes have already destroyed almost everything but the export pipes.
The Donald Trump administration is actively considering plans to occupy or blockade Iran’s Kharg Island to pressure Tehran into reopening the Strait of Hormuz, four sources with knowledge of the issue told Axios.
The strategic island, located 15 miles off Iran’s coast in the Persian Gulf, processes 90% of Iran’s crude oil exports.
Such an operation would risk placing US troops directly in the line of fire and could require additional American forces.
Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz made global energy prices surge.
“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 with knowledge of “White House thinking” said to Axios.
“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 Axios.
“We’ve always had boots on the ground in conflicts under every president, including Trump… the president is going to do what’s right,” A second senior official added.
Three different Marine units are already heading to the region, with the White House and Pentagon weighing even more troop deployments, a US official said, according to the report.
Trump said Thursday: “We can take out the island anytime we want… We’ve taken out everything but the pipes.”
