Former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday called for the United States and Israel to seize Kharg Island, saying it would deal a decisive blow to Iran’s economy.
In a post on Substack, Gallant said Kharg Island serves as Iran’s primary oil export terminal, handling the vast majority of its crude shipments, and argued that capturing it would cripple the country’s economy and force the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
“As long as Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz, the regime retains a veto over the global economy. As long as the world’s energy supply remains hostage to Iranian weapons deployed along a hundred miles of coastline, the destruction of nuclear and missile sites will be overshadowed by an economic crisis that erodes the will to finish the job,” Gallant said.
“Kharg Island is the key that resolves this equation. It accelerates the economic and political pressure that may finally produce the internal change the Iranian people have sought for decades. And it sends a message air strikes alone cannot deliver: The U.S. is committed to a decisive outcome, and it is not going home without one,” he added.
