Trump administration considers seizing Kharg island to force Iran to reopen Strait of Hormuz, says newspaper

Satellite image shows an oil terminal on Kharg Island, off the southwest coast of Iran, on February 25, 2026. Planet Labs PBC/Handout via REUTERS The Trump administration is considering seizing Kharg Island, responsible for 90% of Iran’s oil exports, to force Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to the North American newspaper “Axios”. ✅ Follow g1’s international news channel on WhatsApp According to “Axios” sources with knowledge of the matter, the White House is “seriously” considering occupying with troops or imposing a naval blockade on the island of Kharg amid the war against Iran. “He [Trump] wants the Strait of Hormuz open. If it has to take Kharg Island to make this happen, it will happen. If you decide on a coastal invasion, it will happen. But that decision has not yet been made,” a high-ranking US government official told “Axios”. The operation, however, could only be carried out after the US managed to destroy an even larger portion of the Iranian Navy in the Persian Gulf, which could still take a month to complete, according to the newspaper’s sources. US releases video of the attack on Kharg Island, in Iran Kharg Island is fundamental for Iran and strategic in the midst of the war that the US and Israel are waging with the Iranian regime. The takeover or inactivation of the island could represent the collapse of the Iranian economy for decades and would have a significant impact on the global oil market. The island was bombed by the US exactly a week ago (see the video above). The attack only hit military targets and spared the oil infrastructure. Kharg, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said on Thursday. According to “Axios”, the US bombing of the island was a “warning” to convince Tehran to reopen the strait, but it also served as a preparatory step to reduce Iranian military capacity there and pave the way for an eventual ground operation “We can eliminate the island whenever we want. I call it that little island that is there, totally unprotected. We eliminated everything except the pipelines. We left the pipelines because rebuilding them would take years,” Trump said on Thursday. Also according to “Axios,” three units of Marines are on their way to the Middle East and the Pentagon is considering sending more troops soon. A ground operation in Iran, however, will pose an even greater risk to U.S. troops in the war. Officially, however, Trump said this week that he will not send any more troops to the Middle East. Reuters news agency also reported this week that the US considers sending troops for a ground offensive in Iran. Iran counterattacks and intensifies attacks on energy facilities in the Persian Gulf

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