(Publish from Houston Texas USA)
(By Mian Iftikhar Ahmad)
Consideration of Capturing Kharg Island if Strait of Hormuz Blockade Continues
According to a report by Axios news outlet, President Donald Trump is considering the option of seizing Iran’s strategic Kharg Island which handles approximately ninety percent of Iran’s crude oil exports US officials have stated that Trump is drawn to this idea because it could serve as an economic knockout for the regime and deprive Tehran of funding This operation would require American boots on the ground and control of the island and would be executed if oil tankers remain trapped in the Persian Gulf and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz continues Trump has begun efforts to form a coalition of allied nations to open the Strait of Hormuz and hopes to announce it this week Trump has appealed to China France Japan South Korea and Britain to send warships and has warned that if NATO countries fail to assist the United States the future of NATO could be very bleak Trump stated that they are talking to seven countries and some have refused while Japan and Australia have rejected the US request and South Korea is reviewing its options
Risks and Benefits Associated with the Plan to Seize Kharg Island
According to officials there are significant risks associated with this plan including Iranian retaliatory attacks on oil installations and pipelines in Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia however one official stated that while there are big risks there are also big benefits Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has praised Trump’s decision stating that whoever controls Kharg Island will control the fate of this war The US Department of Defense has issued orders to send additional Marine forces and warships to the region A contingent of approximately twenty two hundred Marines and twenty five hundred naval personnel from the Thirty Third Marine Expeditionary Unit based in Japan is heading to the Middle East The USS Tripoli an amphibious assault ship will arrive in the Persian Gulf within one to two weeks carrying F三十五 B Lightning II aircraft and MV二十二 Osprey helicopters Experts suggest that capturing Kharg Island could provide US forces with a forward base for strikes on Iranian territory however this operation may require up to five thousand Marines and naval personnel Analysts indicate that the Pentagon is now considering a wide range of options including protecting commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz and possibly limited amphibious landings
Iran’s Potential Response and Division of Global Powers in Case of Kharg Island Seizure
According to experts Iran has five other export terminals including the Jask Oil Terminal located outside the Strait of Hormuz which could continue oil exports even if Kharg Island is destroyed or captured Iranian strategy might involve destroying the Kharg oil installations themselves to prevent them from falling into enemy hands which would give Iran a propaganda victory Iran’s navy has suffered heavy losses in joint US Israeli operations but in the event of a US seizure of Kharg Island Iran could inflict continuous losses on US forces through drone and missile attacks Experts warn that any US capture of Kharg Island could provide Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei with national unity and transform the conflict into a defense of Iranian territory potentially increasing public support for them A US seizure of Kharg Island could divide global powers into several groups Currently three groups are emerging on the world stage the first group consists of the United States Israel and Western allied nations the second group comprises the resistance front including Iran Iraq Syria Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthi rebels in Yemen and the third group includes China and Russia which are prioritizing the protection of their own interests rather than fully siding with either party There are strong chances of this conflict escalating into a full scale regional war in which Gulf countries oil installations and water desalination plants could become targets
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