Seizing Kharg Island would risk US troops’ lives and may not end Iran war, experts say

Ships sail through the Arabian Gulf toward the Strait of Hormuz as the sun sets in the United Arab Emirates Monday, March 23, 2026. (AP Photo, File) 2026-03-31T04:01:19Z WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is threatening to deploy ground troops to seize critical oil infrastructure on Iran’s Kharg Island , a military gambit that experts say would risk American lives and could still fail to end the war.

If Trump wants to hobble Iran’s oil industry for leverage in negotiations , a better option might be setting up a blockade at sea against ships that have filled up at Kharg Island’s oil terminals, the experts said.

The island — located on the other side of the Persian Gulf from U.S. bases in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia — is the beating heart of Iran’s oil industry , through which 90% of its exports pass.

It is important because Iran’s coastline is mostly too shallow for tanker ships to dock. “Putting people on the ground might be the most psychologically compelling way of striking a blow at Iran,” said Michael Eisenstadt, a former U.S. military analyst who now directs the Military and Security Studies Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “On the other hand, you’re putting your own troops at jeopardy,” said Eisenstadt, a retired Army reserve officer who served in Iraq. “It’s not far from the mainland.

So they can potentially rain a lot of destruction on the island, if they’re willing to inflict damage on their own infrastructure.” Seizing Kharg Island could escalate the conflict, said Danny Citrinowicz, an Iran expert at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies.

He said Iran and its proxies — including Yemen’s Houthi rebels — could intensify their retaliation , including by laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz and striking targets with drones across the Arabian Peninsula, from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea.

Commodities researchers and investment banks warn major retaliation could have lasting implications for energy prices and the global economy . “It will be hard to take.

It will be hard to hold,” Citrinowicz said of Kharg Island. “And it might damage the economy, but not in a way that will force the Iranians to capitulate.” Trump says ‘maybe we take Kharg Island’ Trump is under growing pressure to end the monthlong conflict with Iran, which has attacked U.S. bases and allies in the region.

Iran also has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz , a narrow chokepoint through which 20% of the world’s oil normally flows, causin

原文链接: AP News