Military experts have warned that any attempt to take Kharg Island from Iran would end in “disaster”, leaving US troops “vulnerable” and potentially even killed. Donald Trump has said that destroying or seizing the island, through which 90% of Iran’s oil exports pass, would bring a quick end to the war.
Earlier this month, he ordered US forces to attack military targets in Kharg, but spared its refineries. However, alarm bells have begun to ring over its feasibility as a long-term objective, with experts warning that it could actually have the opposite effect and lead to more conflict.
A former senior US military officer told MS Now that “if this is their mission it would be a disaster waiting to happen”.
Vali Nasr, a leading Iran expert and professor at Johns Hopkins University, said the attack on Kharg Island would result in a “major escalation” as Iran launches a “war of deterrence”.
He told the outlet: “Taking Kharg would mean destroying it and Iran would respond on a massive scale. Taking Iranian land and destroying its oil export depots would mean the beginning of a war of resistance in Iran.”
However, experts are warning that even this may not go according to plan, and US forces may face “drone and terrorist attacks”.
Senator Richard Blumenthal warned that 8,000 troops are not enough to permanently reopen the Strait of Hormuz. He said that they can capture the waterway, but they are at risk of attack in the future.
He said: “I strongly doubt that 8,000 troops will be enough to take, capture and secure the area needed to truly secure the Strait of Hormuz. The longer they remain, the more vulnerable they will be to drone and terrorist attacks.”
He said, “I think this is a much more difficult military mission than the administration realizes. It is a very small and compressed area.”
