{"id":713,"date":"2026-06-11T17:16:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T17:16:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=713"},"modified":"2026-06-11T17:16:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T17:16:35","slug":"irans-kharg-island-is-key-to-its-oil-exports-targeting-it-carries-major-risks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=713","title":{"rendered":"Iran\u2019s Kharg Island is key to its oil exports. Targeting it carries major risks"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Iran\u2019s Kharg Island, home to a terminal through which the country exports most of its oil, has emerged as a focus of the war<\/span> launched in late February by the United States and Israel.<\/p>\n

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Strikes on oil infrastructure on Kharg \u2014 or a ground invasion<\/span> \u2014 would severely curb Iran\u2019s oil exports, a key source of revenue for the Islamic Republic. An assault would also mark a major escalation that could provoke even heavier retaliatory attacks on Gulf Arab infrastructure and further drive up oil prices. The skyrocketing cost of fuel is already threatening the world economy<\/span>.<\/p>\n

U.S. President Donald Trump<\/span> said strikes in mid-March \u201cobliterated\u201d<\/span> Kharg\u2019s military assets but did not target the island\u2019s oil infrastructure. He warned that if Iran continued disrupting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, he would reconsider the decision to spare energy targets on the island.<\/p>\n

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Then on Thursday, Trump said in a social media post that the U.S. would \u201cassume total control\u201d of Iran\u2019s oil and gas industries, including the Kharg Island terminal<\/span>, in the \u201cnot too distant future.\u201d<\/p>\n

The president made the post as escalating attacks between the countries pushed the Middle East closer to the resumption of a full-scale war<\/span>. His latest threats emerged at a time when efforts to negotiate an end to the war appear to be stuck.<\/p>\n

The island is on the other side of the Persian Gulf from U.S. bases in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. A U.S. occupation of it would put American troops in a stationary position just 33 kilometers (21 miles) off Iran\u2019s coast. That\u2019s well within range of Iranian drones and missiles, if the Islamic Republic is willing to inflict damage on its own territory.<\/p>\n

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The small coral island is especially important because Iran\u2019s coastline is mostly too shallow for tanker ships to dock. The U.S. has imposed a naval blockade<\/span> on Iranian ports, which has impeded Iran\u2019s efforts to export oil, mainly to China, through the Strait of Hormuz, even as Iranian attacks have closed the vital waterway to most traffic<\/span>.<\/p>\n

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The destruction or loss of the island would deny the government a major revenue source, but it would also remove even more oil from world markets at a time of soaring prices. The destruction of the terminal would further damage Iran\u2019s already weakened economy and undermine any efforts at postwar reconstruction.<\/p>\n

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