Why the US is eyeing Kharg Island and how many troops could be involved if a ground invasion happens

Iran has warned of retaliation against an unnamed regional country after intelligence suggested that “Iran’s enemies” are planning to occupy one of its strategic islands with external support. Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on Wednesday, March 25 that any such attempt would be met with targeted attacks on “vital infrastructure” of the regional country, which he did not name.

In his X post he also did not name the Iranian island but multiple media reports pointed towards strategic Kharg Island, which plays key roles in Iran’s oil-dependent economy.



The Island was also attacked during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s when Saddam Hussein sent Iraqi aircraft to bomb it.

The US military had already targeted Kharg with strikes on March 13, with United States Central Command saying that 90 targets had been hit, including “naval mine storage facilities, missile storage bunkers, and multiple other military sites.”


Now preparations for a possible US operation to take control of the island were reported by US news outlets.

Why Kharg Island matters and why US eyeing it

Kharg Island lies roughly 20 miles off Iran's northern Gulf coast. For decades, it has served as Iran's main oil export terminal, historically handling 90% of the country's crude exports, as per Reuters. Very large tankers, capable of carrying up to 85 million gallons of oil, are able to come up to the island's long jetties to pick up the oil. The island's coast is close enough to deep waters, unlike the shallower coast of the mainland.

If the island's loading facilities were knocked out, Iran's ability to export oil would collapse almost immediately. Oil revenue, earned mainly by selling crude to China, remains one of the Islamic Republic's most important sources of funding, CBS News analyzed.

Taking the island would effectively cut off the IRGC's economic lifeline, affecting its ability to conduct war, the BBC reported, citing security analyst Mikey Kay.

But strikes on the oil infrastructure would be a massive escalation in the war that could send global oil markets into a panic, and threats to the island would pressure Tehran's energy system.

How many troops could be involved in a potential ground invasion?

The US military is preparing to deploy some 2,500 Marines and warships in the Middle East, Reuters reported on March 20 citing three US officials. But the report says that the US still has not made any decisions to send troops to Iran.

However, as per a CNN report on March 25, two Marine Expeditionary Units, which specialize in rapid-response amphibious landings, raids, and assault missions, have recently deployed to the Middle East. Those units include several thousand Marines along with amphibious warships, aviation assets, and landing craft. They are the most likely to be involved in an operation to take Kharg, the sources said.

Approximately 1,000 US soldiers with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division are also expected to deploy to the region in the coming days.

Iran laying defensive traps to defend Kharg Island

The CNN report quoting unnamed sources revealed that Iran has also been laying traps, including anti-personnel and anti-armor mines, around the island to prevent a US ground invasion.