Did Donald Trump decide to make Kharg Island a brief demonstration of what might follow if Iran refuses to capitulate? Or does he have something in mind to increase his leverage?
The scope and scale of the new attacks on Kharg Island, Iran’s oil-export hub, suggest a third option – checkmate:
The U.S. military struck dozens of Iranian military targets on Kharg Island overnight, according to a U.S. official.
The mission included U.S. airstrikes along the northern side of the Island and did not include any U.S. troops on the ground, the U.S. official said. They did not strike the oil, but instead hit military bunkers and storage facilities, air defense systems, and other military facilities.
The U.S. official stressed these were all military targets and many were targets the U.S. hit previously. President Trump said on March 13 that the U.S. “totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran’s crown jewel, Kharg Island”
This looks like something much larger than a demonstration strike. Strikes on this scale and at this particular point in the war strongly suggest that the US and maybe the Israelis plan to seize Khrag Island and close off Iran’s ability to sell oil. Iran has been shipping oil from Kharg throughout the conflict, with the US allowing passage of those vessels while demanding Iran reciprocate. Seizing Kharg would allow the US to cut off that revenue to the regime without a blockade in the Strait.
Here’s the rub: It will take a significant number of boots on the ground to seize Kharg. Trump has assembled plenty of resources to launch such an operation; one Marine Expeditionary Unit has been in the theater for the last week and another will arrive shortly, if not already on scene. The 82nd Airborne has also deployed to the Gulf in anticipation of ground action. Kharg is the most strategic target, and Iran exports more than 90% of its oil through its facilities.
If Trump is willing to take the risk, seizing Kharg is the surest way to force the regime to negotiate on American terms. However, Trump can minimize those risks by doing exactly what US forces are doing presently – using air and naval power to reduce the IRGC’s capabilities to zero, or close to it. Kharg Island is less than eight square miles; we seized Grenada in three days of fighting in 1983, and Grenada is over 130 square miles. Putting boots on the ground there will produce American casualties, however, and Trump has to weigh the political costs as well as the strategic gains.
If Trump is willing to take that risk, it might provide him with a better option than civilizational death:
A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!
In this case, to use Salena Zito’s famous observation, Trump used that language to be taken seriously rather than literally. The Iranian civilization won’t die tonight, but the radical Islamists that hijacked certainly could. Trump wants people to know that he’s not bluffing, and that he’s going to play all his cards at some point. He’s got a much better hand than the mullahs’ pair of deuces, and if he seizes Kharg Island, they won’t even be able to afford the ante. Stay tuned.
Update: The IRGC is still delusional. They seem to welcome “civilizational death,” or are very confused about how “death to America” has landed for half a century:
From the New York Times. This almost seems designed to fail. Congress would vote on reparations for Iran? pic.twitter.com/gZHrWjwEnu
— Olivier Knox (@OKnox) April 7, 2026
Absurd, but telling. One has to wonder whether they’re still convinced of the Twelfth Imam prophecy coming to their rescue.
Editor’s Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.
Help us report the truth about the Trump administration’s decisive actions to keep Americans safe and bring peace to the world. Join Hot Air VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership!
