US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the US will occupy Iran’s Kharg Island and other oil infrastructure in the country as peace talks between the two countries stall.
The exposed coral island off Iran’s coast is an economic lifeline for Tehran, which typically processes about 90% of the country’s oil exports.
“At some point in the not-too-distant future, we will occupy Cargu Island and other oil infrastructure sites and take full control of the oil and gas market, similar to Venezuela,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Trump has previously floated the idea of seizing important Iranian oil sites, and the US has launched multiple attacks on the island, but the US president’s latest comments mark a significant escalation as regional mediators seek dialogue over a flare-up in fighting.
Here’s what we know about this island.
What is Kharg Island?
Kharg Island stretches eight kilometers off the Iranian coast, is about one-third the size of Manhattan, and is described by U.S. officials as “the nexus of Iran’s entire oil supply.”
Its long jetty juts out into waters deep enough for oil supertankers to dock, making the island an important location for oil distribution.
The island has long been key to Iran’s economy. A declassified 1984 CIA document published online states that these facilities are “the most important of Iran’s oil system and their continued operation is essential to Iran’s economic health.”
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), alternative export routes exist that bypass the Strait of Hormuz, but they are limited and have not been robustly tested on a large scale.
For example, Iran opened the Jask Oil Terminal in 2021, allowing crude oil to be shipped to Jask in the Gulf of Oman just east of the strait, but the terminal is not considered a viable export option for Iranian crude, the IEA said.
Kag Island’s storage capacity is estimated at about 30 million barrels, Reuters reported in March, citing trade information firm Kpler.
Earlier this year, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said the destruction of the terminal would “paralyze Iran’s economy and bring down the regime.”
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Berger Ghalibaf said in March that “Iran’s enemies, with the support of one of the regional countries,” were preparing to seize one of the country’s islands, without directly mentioning the island’s name. That didn’t happen back then.
In preparation for a U.S. operation to seize Kharg Island, Iran laid a trap and moved additional military and air defense forces to the island earlier this year, according to people familiar with U.S. intelligence reports on the matter.
The island already has layered defenses, and Iran has moved an additional shoulder-fired surface-to-air guided missile system known as MANPAD there, the officials said.
Has the US attacked the island before?
Yes, several times.
President Trump said in March that the United States had bombed “every military target” on the island, threatening to attack oil infrastructure if Iran continued to block shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
A video posted on Truth Social and geolocated by CNN showed the US attack on the island’s airport complex, with large explosions and black smoke visible throughout the footage.
President Trump said on the same day that Kaag was “not high on the list, but this is one of so many different things that you can change your mind about in seconds.”
But President Trump was talking about invading the island as far back as 1988, decades before he was elected.
“If a bullet is fired at one of our soldiers or one of our ships, as I would do for many on Kharg Island, I will go in and take it,” he said in an interview with the Guardian at the time.
In early April, the United States announced it had struck military targets on the island, but the attack did not target oil facilities, one U.S. official said. Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency said the U.S. bombing caused little damage to outcropping marine infrastructure.
White House officials believe capturing Kharg Island could “completely bankrupt” Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and lead to an early end to the war, officials said.
But many within the administration are wary of such a move, especially given that it would require significant ground troops.
Plans for U.S. forces to seize the island have been in the works for months, but the operation has been continually shelved because it was deemed too risky, a senior Pentagon official and two administration officials told CNN.
