Iran would capture US troops if Kharg Island seized, lawmaker says

Despite being only about five miles long, the island serves as the main hub for Iran’s crude oil exports and hosts military assets around the Strait of Hormuz.

Recent US strikes targeting military infrastructure on the island – while deliberately sparing its oil facilities – have underscored Kharg’s importance at the intersection of energy markets, maritime security and regional military strategy.

Iran’s oil lifeline

Kharg Island is the backbone of Iran’s crude oil export system. Energy analysts estimate that roughly 90% of the country’s crude exports pass through terminals on the island, making it one of the most critical pieces of economic infrastructure for the Islamic Republic.

Tanker tracking data shows that in 2025 the island handled about 96% of Iran’s crude exports, equivalent to roughly 1.54 million barrels per day out of a national total of about 1.6 million barrels per day.

The scale of Kharg’s infrastructure dwarfs other Iranian export facilities. The island’s loading terminals were originally designed to handle up to seven million barrels per day and can service eight or nine supertankers at once. More than 50 crude storage tanks on the island can hold over 34 million barrels.

Most of the crude shipped from Kharg arrives via pipelines from mainland oil fields in southern Iran rather than being produced on the island itself.

Other export facilities operate on a far smaller scale. Lavan Island can process roughly 200,000 barrels per day, with storage capacity of about 5.5 million barrels. Sirri Island provides around 4.5 million barrels of storage. The energy hub at Assaluyeh handles gas condensate rather than crude oil, meaning it does not function as a major oil export terminal.

Iran has also attempted to create alternative export routes outside the Persian Gulf. A terminal under development at Jask, on the Gulf of Oman, has a projected capacity of about one million barrels per day, but storage capacity there is only about two million barrels, far below the scale of Kharg.

For this reason, Kharg is widely considered to be the centerpiece of Iran’s crude export system. Much of the infrastructure and export data referenced here has also been highlighted in recent analysis by sanctions and financial analyst Miad Maleki on X.

A military hub in the Persian Gulf

Kharg Island is not only an economic asset but also an important military location.

Access to the island is tightly restricted and guarded by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The IRGC Navy maintains a presence there, including the 112th Zolfaghar Surface Combat Brigade, a unit operating fast-attack boats designed for asymmetric naval warfare in the Persian Gulf.

These vessels are typically equipped with anti-ship missiles, rockets and naval mines, allowing them to threaten commercial shipping or larger naval vessels operating nearby.

Military infrastructure around the island includes coastal missile launchers, radar systems, surveillance networks and drone facilities used to monitor activity across the northern Persian Gulf.

Iran’s regular navy, known as the Army Navy, also operates in the broader Bushehr–Kharg region, using helicopters and boats for maritime patrols and potential mine-laying operations.

Together, the IRGC Navy and the conventional navy maintain a presence that could pose risks to shipping lanes during periods of conflict.

The Strait of Hormuz factor

Kharg’s strategic importance is closely tied to the Strait of Hormuz, located southeast of the island.

The narrow maritime passage connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the wider Indian Ocean. About 20% of the world’s oil supply passes through this chokepoint every day.

Tankers carrying crude from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates all transit the strait before reaching global markets.

Although Iran itself contributes only 3–4% of global oil supply, its geographic position along the Strait of Hormuz gives it the ability to threaten a far larger portion of global energy flows.

Iran’s naval doctrine emphasizes the use of asymmetric tactics, including naval mines, fast-attack boats and anti-ship missiles.

Iran is believed to possess between 2,000 and 6,000 naval mines. Even a limited number could disrupt maritime traffic in the narrow waterway. Military analysts note that clearing mines is a slow and complex process requiring specialized ships, drones and helicopters.

Why the US struck Kharg

The United States early Saturday targeted military assets on Kharg Island as part of a broader campaign aimed at protecting maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

US President Donald Trump said American forces struck military targets on the island while deliberately avoiding its oil infrastructure.

“Moments ago, at my direction, the United States Central Command executed one of the most powerful bombing raids in the history of the Middle East and totally obliterated every military target in Iran’s crown jewel, Kharg Island,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Trump said the operation specifically avoided damaging oil facilities.

“Our weapons are the most powerful and sophisticated that the world has ever known but, for reasons of decency, I have chosen not to wipe out the oil infrastructure on the island,” he wrote.

The strikes targeted military equipment including missile boats, speedboats, launchers, drones and coastal batteries associated with Iranian forces stationed there.

The strategy appears aimed at removing threats to minesweeping operations rather than disrupting global oil supply.

Commercial tankers cannot be safely escorted through the Strait of Hormuz while facing missile, drone and mine threats from nearby Iranian bases. Neutralizing these capabilities allows specialized naval vessels and drones to begin clearing mines from shipping lanes.

Trump warned that the decision to spare Kharg’s oil facilities could change if Iran interferes with maritime traffic.

“Should Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the free and safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider this decision,” he wrote.

Oil exports continue despite strikes

Despite the military strikes, oil operations on Kharg appear to have continued.

Shipping data indicates that tankers have continued loading crude from the island’s terminals. One very large crude carrier (VLCC) was reported to have completed a two-million-barrel loading shortly after the strikes.

Satellite imagery showing flames on the island does not necessarily indicate damage to oil facilities. Gas flaring, a routine process used in oil operations, occurs regularly on Kharg and can appear as fires in satellite images.

Kharg has also demonstrated resilience in past conflicts. During the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, Iraqi forces repeatedly bombed the island and destroyed several storage tanks. Despite the damage, Iran continued exporting more than 1.5 million barrels of oil per day.

More than six decades after exports began there in 1960, Kharg Island remains both Iran’s primary energy gateway and a key strategic point in the security architecture of the Persian Gulf.

As long as a large share of the world’s oil continues to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the small island will remain one of the most consequential pieces of infrastructure in the region.

Countries in the Middle East should trust Iran rather than the US, said spokesperson for the General Staff of Iran’s armed forces even as Iranian attacks continued targeting the neighboring states.

Abolfazl Shekarchi warned regional governments not to rely on what he called America’s “hollow power,” saying the United States could not even defend its own forces or provide security for Muslim countries.

He called on regional states to trust the Islamic Republic and urged unity across the Muslim world against the US and Israel.

Powerful explosions shook Tabriz and Urmia on Saturday morning, according to eyewitness accounts sent to Iran International.

Between seven and eight explosions were heard in Tabriz, where homes shook several times early in the morning and several more blasts were heard across parts of the city around 8:30 am.

The strikes hit the Iranian Diesel Engine Manufacturing factory, a steel plant, and a ball bearing manufacturing company in Tabriz, witnesses said.

A witness in Urmia also said a aloud blast was heard around 8:30 am and was followed by shaking similar to an earthquake.

Hundreds of people have been detained across the country over the past two weeks, according to information reviewed by Iran International and local reports. Many detainees’ identities, locations of detention and legal status remain unknown.

Arrests have been reported in multiple provinces including East and West Azarbaijan, Alborz, Isfahan, Tehran, Khuzestan, Kordestan, Kerman, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Gilan, Lorestan and Yazd. Authorities have accused detainees of offenses such as “disturbing public opinion,” “propaganda against the system,” “online activities,” “disrupting public security,” and “cooperation with hostile countries.”

State television and security-linked outlets have simultaneously broadcast forced confessions from some detainees, raising concerns among rights advocates that the statements could be used to justify prosecutions. Human rights organizations have repeatedly criticized the Islamic Republic for using televised confessions obtained under pressure as evidence in court proceedings.

Officials have accompanied the crackdown with increasingly explicit threats.

Ahmadreza Radan, commander of Iran’s police, said more than 80 people had been arrested for spreading “disturbing content” online. He added that thousands of others had received warning text messages over posts deemed to spread panic.

Radan also warned that police would respond forcefully to any street protests, saying officers would be “ready to pull the trigger” if demonstrations occur.

Meanwhile, state television aired a program in which a presenter threatened government opponents, saying authorities would eventually pursue them whether they were inside or outside the country.

Security agencies have also reported new arrests linked to alleged espionage. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said six people were detained in Kordestan province and one individual was killed during an operation. The Guards-affiliated Fars website reported that intelligence forces arrested 50 people in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province. The Intelligence Ministry said at least 30 others were detained on accusations of spying for the United States and Israel.

Authorities have also targeted those documenting the conflict. The ministry warned that filming or photographing strike locations could amount to acting as the “enemy’s fifth column.” Guards intelligence officials said some individuals who sent images of attacks to media outlets had already been arrested.

Internet disruptions have further limited the flow of information. The monitoring group NetBlocks reported that a nationwide internet blackout continues for hundreds of hours.

The group warned the shutdown posed a direct threat to civilians by restricting access to vital information. With communications cut in many areas, families of detainees say they often do not know where relatives are being held.

Threats have also extended beyond Iran’s borders. The office of Iran’s prosecutor general issued a statement warning Iranians abroad that assets could be seized and severe penalties imposed if authorities determine they have “cooperated with the enemy.”

The statement broadly defined such cooperation as providing intelligence or engaging in activities benefiting Israel, the United States or other “hostile states.” Officials said legal proceedings against such individuals had entered an “operational phase,” including asset identification and confiscation.

At the same time, reports have emerged of expanded security deployments in cities nationwide. Revolutionary Guards and Basij units have established checkpoints in urban areas, with citizens reporting aggressive searches of vehicles and mobile phones.

A resident of Tehran told Iran International that police at a checkpoint in Haft-e Tir Square forced him to unlock his phone and searched through his calls, photos and videos.

Another resident in Isfahan said Basij personnel threatened him and his family with weapons during an inspection at a busy city square. According to the witness, officers treated civilians as if they were the enemy.

Security checkpoints themselves have increasingly become targets in the ongoing conflict. Video circulating online shows drone strikes hitting Basij checkpoints and equipment in Tehran.

The Fars website reported that at least 10 Basij and security personnel stationed at checkpoints in the capital were killed in strikes on Wednesday evening. Additional attacks on similar positions have been reported in other cities.

The Israeli military later said its air force had targeted Basij checkpoints and personnel in Tehran, describing them as part of the Islamic Republic’s internal security apparatus used to suppress dissent.

Data from the US-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project recorded at least 18 Israeli strikes on Basij checkpoints on Wednesday alone, most of them in Tehran.

The arrests and heightened street controls come as Iran’s prison system is already under severe strain following previous protest crackdowns that saw tens of thousands detained. Human rights groups say many prisons face overcrowding, poor sanitation and shortages of basic supplies.

At the same time, some detention facilities and intelligence buildings have reportedly been damaged in airstrikes, raising further uncertainty about where newly arrested individuals are being held.

With communication restrictions still in place and many detentions unacknowledged by authorities, families and rights advocates say concerns are growing about the fate of hundreds of people detained during one of the most volatile periods in Iran in years.

Hamas on Saturday urged the Islamic Republic to avoid targeting neighboring countries while reaffirming Iran’s right to defend itself against Israel and the United States.

“While affirming the right of the Islamic Republic of Iran to respond to this aggression by all available means in accordance with international norms and laws, the movement calls on the brothers in Iran to avoid targeting neighboring countries,” Hamas said in a statement.