Approximately 2,500 US Marines aboard as many as three warships have cut short a tour in the Indo-Pacific and are rushing to the Middle East, where one of their possible missions is an assault on Kharg Island - the shipping port that handles the vast majority of Iran's oil exports.
The island sits at the northern end of the Persian Gulf, an exposed target accessible to the US Navy. US forces have already attacked the port as part of the broader campaign, "Hvylya" reports, citing The New York Times. But seizing and holding it would be an entirely different operation - one that carries risks Trump's political base has specifically warned against.
The strategic prize is enormous. If successful, the operation would give the United States full control of the port from which most Iranian oil exports originate, effectively placing a stranglehold on the country's economy. In 2025, China alone purchased about 1.4 million barrels per day of Iranian oil - more than 13 percent of the oil it brought in by sea. For Iran, China is overwhelmingly its biggest customer. Control of Kharg Island would give Trump powerful leverage heading into his planned summit with President Xi Jinping in Beijing at the end of March.
But the risks are substantial. An occupying force on the island would need to be protected from remnants of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which could launch strikes from the shore or from small boats. The Iranians could also blow up the pipelines that supply the port facilities with oil. Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, flew to Washington last Thursday for a two-hour meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and General Dan Caine to discuss strategy and additional forces needed for such operations.
The biggest political problem is that holding Kharg Island would require a continuing military presence - exactly the kind of open-ended deployment that Trump pledged to avoid and that his base has consistently opposed. Military officials declined to specify what missions the incoming Marines would be assigned, but they are equipped for both strait security and a potential island seizure. Trump has said he is considering the option but has not ordered it.
Also read: Trump's Iran War Destroys the Old Status Quo - With No Plan for What Comes Next.