U.S. Officials Say Seizing Kharg Island Is Seen as a Last Resort

Plans for the U.S. military to seize Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf have been drawn up for months, but were shelved repeatedly because the operation was considered too dangerous. That is according to a senior Pentagon official and two U.S. administration officials who spoke to CNN.

According to those officials, the view in the White House and the Pentagon is that taking control of the island, or destroying its energy infrastructure, would effectively bankrupt Iran and reduce its capabilities to the point where it could not continue the war. At the same time, officials made clear to U.S. President Donald Trump that such an operation would likely require a significant number of ground forces and could lead to heavy casualties. For that reason, the Pentagon and the White House have treated the move as a possible endgame option, a last resort.