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U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday evening announced that he\u2019d ordered strikes on Kharg Island, a small but strategically vital island in the Persian Gulf through which 90 percent of Iran\u2019s crude oil exports flow.<\/p>\n
\u201cMoments ago, at my direction, the United States Central Command executed one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East, and totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran\u2019s crown jewel, Kharg Island,\u201d Trump said<\/a> in a post on Truth Social.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday evening announced that he\u2019d ordered strikes on Kharg Island, a small but strategically vital island in the Persian Gulf through which 90 percent of Iran\u2019s crude oil exports flow.<\/p>\n \u201cMoments ago, at my direction, the United States Central Command executed one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East, and totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran\u2019s crown jewel, Kharg Island,\u201d Trump said<\/a> in a post on Truth Social.<\/p>\n Trump said that \u201cfor reasons of decency,\u201d he chose \u201cNOT to wipe out the Oil Infrastructure on the Island,\u201d but he added that \u201cshould Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider this decision.\u201d<\/p>\n Kharg is Iran\u2019s primary oil export terminal, and its processing facilities are crucial to the Iranian economy. The island, which sits just 15 miles off the coast of the Iranian mainland, handles approximately 950 million barrels<\/a> of crude oil per year.<\/p>\n The strikes on Kharg, which occurred nearly two weeks after the United States and Israel launched the war with Iran, come as Tehran has targeted more than a dozen<\/a> vessels in the Strait of Hormuz\u2014the narrow waterway through which roughly 20 percent of the world\u2019s crude oil and liquefied natural gas normally travels\u2014effectively bringing traffic through the critical maritime chokepoint to a standstill in an effort to raise oil prices and ramp up pressure on Washington over the conflict. The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, settled at over $100 a barrel on Friday\u2014a gain of more than 40 percent<\/a> since the war began in late February.<\/p>\n For days, there has been speculation that the United States might move to strike or seize Kharg to gain leverage over Iran. But experts have cautioned that seizing Kharg carried major risks, which could help explain why Trump took what could be viewed as a more limited step in launching strikes.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are pros and potential upsides to seizing Kharg Island,\u201d Gregory Brew, an Iran expert and senior analyst with Eurasia Group, told Foreign Policy<\/em> on Thursday. \u201cIt would theoretically put the United States in a position to impede Iran\u2019s oil exports. It would offer up Trump the opportunity to claim a more decisive win, given that he can claim that the United States has greater leverage over Iran. It would further weaken the regime, given that they would not be able to continue to export oil in the same volume as they are doing currently.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBut there are also considerable downsides,\u201d Brew added. \u201cFor one, Iran would not lose the ability to export completely. They have other export facilities. They have others in the Gulf\u2014they have one export terminal in Jask, which is east of the Strait of Hormuz, which they have also started using more. So, if they lose Kharg, they don\u2019t lose the capability to export. They can likely continue to do so, albeit at lower volumes, at least initially.\u201d<\/p>\n Seizing Kharg would also carry significant risks for any U.S. troops involved. Such a move on Iranian territory would likely trigger a \u201cvery aggressive\u201d response from the regime and \u201cput those troops in harm\u2019s way,\u201d Brew said, exposing them to \u201cdrone and missile fire in a way that they wouldn\u2019t be or haven\u2019t been at U.S. bases in other hardened locations.\u201d<\/p>\n The Pentagon has ordered additional troops and warships to the region as the war rages on, per multiple reports<\/a> on Friday, including the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli<\/em> and roughly 2,500 Marines. This gives Trump more options if he decides to take further actions against Kharg.<\/p>\n Trump has long mused about seizing Kharg Island\u2014at least as far back as 1988\u2014a fact that Fox News Radio host Brian Kilmeade brought up in an interview<\/a> with Trump on Thursday night that aired on Friday. Kilmeade asked Trump whether he was thinking about making such a move now.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s answer was surprisingly tetchy for what had until then been a fairly friendly conversation. \u201cBrian, I can\u2019t answer a question like that, and you shouldn\u2019t ask, and you shouldn\u2019t be even asking it. It\u2019s one of so many different things. It\u2019s not high on the list. But it\u2019s one of so many different things, and I can change my mind in seconds,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n He continued: \u201cBut, you know, for you to ask a question, who would answer a question like that? I mean, you\u2019re asking me a question. Kharg Island, am I thinking\u2014who would ask a question like that, and what fool would answer it? OK? Let\u2019s say I was going to do it, or let\u2019s say I wasn\u2019t going to do it. Why would I tell you? \u2018Oh, yes, Brian, I\u2019m thinking about doing it, let me, uh, let me let you know what time and when it\u2019ll take place.\u2019 It\u2019s not, it\u2019s sort of a foolish question\u2014a little surprising for you because you\u2019re a smart man.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n This post is part of FP\u2019s ongoing coverage<\/i>.\u00a0<\/i>Read more here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n