US Considers Seizing Key Iranian Island
US Considers Seizing Key Iranian Island
Kharg Island houses an oil terminal that handles approximately 90% of Iran's oil exports.
US officials are considering seizing the Iranian island of Kharg, Axios reported Sunday, citing sources.
The island is located in the northern Persian Gulf, 25 kilometers off the Iranian coast. It houses an oil terminal involved in Iranian oil exports. According to Axios, the island is responsible for exporting approximately 90% of the country's hydrocarbons.
In addition to the island, officials are discussing the possibility of seizing Iran's enriched uranium. It is noted that such an operation would require the presence of US and Israeli troops, but no final decision has yet been made.
Previously, former Trump special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg stated the need to seize the island. “If you take that island, that’s 89% of the Iranians’ oil consumption,” he told Fox News, noting that the move “would economically strangle them.”
Trump doesn’t rule out sending troops
The US president stated that he would consider sending US troops to Iran, but “for a very good reason.” “If we ever did that, [the Iranians] would be so decimated that they wouldn’t be able to fight on the ground,” he declared on Saturday. Furthermore, the president stated that the map of Iran “probably” would never be the same after the conflict.
Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported that there is growing speculation at the Pentagon that the president will make such a decision.
The recent and sudden cancellation of a major training exercise for members of a prominent elite paratrooper unit has only increased these suspicions. Composed of between 4,000 and 5,000 soldiers, the 82nd Airborne Division specializes in missions such as seizing airfields and other critical infrastructure, reinforcing U.S. embassies, and conducting emergency evacuations.
This unit had not received deployment orders; however, its prominent role in past conflicts raises expectations that it may be involved in the campaign of aggression against Iran.
Fuente: Telegram "Eurekapress"