Trump considers occupying or blockading Iran's Kharg island

The Trump administration is actively considering plans to occupy or blockade Iran's Kharg Island, the country's most critical oil export terminal, as leverage to force Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reported Friday, citing four sources with direct knowledge of the deliberations.

Kharg Island is not just any strategic asset. It is the beating heart of Iran's oil export infrastructure, handling approximately 90% of Iran's crude oil exports and representing one of the most vital pieces of economic leverage the Islamic Republic possesses. 

Controlling or blockading Kharg would effectively strangle Iran's remaining oil revenues at a moment when the regime is already reeling from weeks of devastating US-Israeli strikes.

The island sits in the northern Persian Gulf, approximately 25 kilometers off Iran's southwestern coast, well within range of US naval and air assets already deployed in the region.

The Strategic Logic

Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz at the start of the conflict, declaring it would "not allow a single litre of oil" to reach the United States, Israel or their partners. 

The closure has sent oil prices soaring, disrupted global supply chains and forced the International Energy Agency to release 400 million barrels from strategic reserves in the largest such intervention in history.

Occupying or blockading Kharg would give Washington a direct bargaining chip, essentially telling Tehran: reopen Hormuz, or lose your primary source of oil revenue permanently.