Kharg Island, which handles the bulk of Iran’s crude exports and was once floated by President Donald Trump as a potential target could spark broader regional instability and attacks on energy infrastructure if struck by the U.S., a leading energy security expert has warned.
Reports indicate the Trump administration is weighing options that could include a direct attack on Kharg Island.
Discussing the possibility of boots on the ground amid Operation Epic Fury on “The Claman Countdown,” retired Army Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt also told Liz Claman striking Kharg could be in the “offing.”
“I don’t think a significant number of boots on the ground, other than the chance of an assault on Kharg Island, is in the offing,” he said March 9.
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The Kharg Island Oil Terminal brings Iranian oil to the world market. The oil terminal is the world’s largest open oil terminal, with 95% of Iran’s crude oil exports coming through it. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Trump’s interest in the island dates back to a 1988 interview in which he reportedly suggested targeting Kharg in response to Iranian aggression, according to reports.
“I’d be harsh on Iran. They’ve been beating us psychologically, making us look like a bunch of fools,” Trump said. “One bullet shot at one of our men or ships, and I’d do a number on Kharg Island. I’d go in and take it.”
Sara Vakhshouri, a global energy analyst, said striking Kharg aligns squarely with Washington’s “energy dominance” doctrine and spoke as U.S. and Israeli military action in Iran rattles energy markets and disrupts oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
“Kharg currently acts as a strategic restraint point in the conflict,” Vakhshouri, founder and president of SVB Energy International, told Fox News Digital.
“Interrupting Iran’s main export terminal would likely trigger a major oil price spike, market instability and regional retaliation against energy infrastructure.”
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Reports indicate President Donald Trump’s administration is considering a direct attack on Iran’s Kharg Island, which handles 90% of Iranian oil exports near Strait of Hormuz. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Kharg’s significance is not only tactical but strategic, she added, arguing that it fits squarely within Trump’s long-touted doctrine.
The policy, central to Trump’s first term, prioritized maximizing U.S. oil and gas production, expanding exports and leveraging U.S. energy strength as a geopolitical tool.
“But when we talk about Kharg, the most important factor is that it fits within the U.S. energy dominance concept,” Vakhshouri said, suggesting that holding the island in reserve as a pressure point — rather than immediately striking it — may be a more strategic option.
Kharg sits in the northern Persian Gulf, roughly 15 miles off Iran’s mainland. Tankers leaving the terminal pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow choke point that handles about one-fifth of global oil trade.
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President Donald Trump gestures as he boards Air Force One before departing Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla., March 1, 2026. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
Around 90% to 95% of Iran’s crude and petroleum exports pass through Kharg, making it the regime’s primary oil revenue hub.
“Roughly 15 to 20 million barrels may be in storage, with around 1.5 to 3 million barrels per day exported through the terminal during the sanctions, with export capacity up to 5 million barrels per day,” Vakhshouri said.
“If the export capability from Kharg were lost, this restraint could diminish, shifting the risk toward further strikes on regional energy facilities and, more importantly, prolonged disruption of oil flows and tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz,” she warned.