Trump Signals Possible U.S. Move on Iran’s Kharg Island as Pentagon Kept Contingency Plan

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.

Against the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s threats to seize Iran’s “oil island” in the Persian Gulf, a senior Pentagon official and two U.S. administration officials said in a CNN report that plans for the U.S. military to take Kharg Island had been developed for months, but were repeatedly shelved because the operation was deemed too risky. 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 in effect bankrupt Iran and reduce its capabilities to the point that it could not continue the war.

At the same time, officials made clear to 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 “game over” option, a last resort.

As noted, Trump threatened today to seize Iran’s “oil island” in the Persian Gulf. In a post on his Truth Social platform, he wrote: “The U.S. will strike Iran that its navy, air force, radar, air defense system, and all other defensive forms, along with most of its offensive capability, have been eliminated! With great force tonight”.

Trump added that “at some point in the not-too-distant future, we will take over Kharg Island and additional oil infrastructure points, and gain full control over their oil and gas markets, as we did with Venezuela, which is working brilliantly for both Venezuela and the United States of America.”

Later, in an interview with Fox News, Trump repeated his statement that he wants to write Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf. He said in the interview, “We are talking to them, and with everyone, but you know, look, my preference has always been, take Kharg Island, that would be my preference. I do not know if America has the courage for that.” He also said he prefers not to hit bridges and power stations because “people won’t be able to drink water, I do not want to do that.” He also repeated his threat that “there will be more bombings tonight, bigger, stronger.”