Kharg Island is vital to Iran's oil exports. Reports say Trump wants it

Though only a few miles in length, Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf is attracting outsized attention for its strategic importance as the U.S.-Israel war on Iran approaches its one-month mark.

The island, which is Iran's primary hub for oil exports, has been targeted once before by U.S. military strikes. Recent media reports suggest it could once again land in the crosshairs.

Axios and CNN have both reported in the last week that President Donald Trump is considering using U.S. troops to invade and seize the island, citing unnamed sources. Axios' reporting said the administration's plans also include a military blockade of the land mass, from which most of Iran's oil exports pass through.

Thousands of Marines are making their way to the Middle East, though the Pentagon has not released details about exactly where they're headed. Despite chatter of a ceasefire and Trump's newly unveiled 15-point plan to end the war launched by the United States and Israel on Feb. 28, the conflict continues. Iran maintains its effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has brought oil shipments to a halt in one of the world's most important trading routes, causing the global economy to teeter. 

Thousands have been killed in strikes across multiple countries in the Gulf and Middle East, including 13 U.S. troops.

Here's what to know about Iran's Kharg Island.

What is Kharg Island? 

Kharg Island lies about 15 nautical miles off the coast of Iran in the Persian Gulf. About 90% of Iran's crude oil exports are processed on this small piece of land.

Iran produces more than 3 million barrels of oil a day, and is among the top 10 oil producers in the world.  

Pipelines from some of Iran’s biggest oil fields connect to Kharg Island as well, and millions of barrels of oil are stored there.

Kharg Island a target in the past

United States Central Command said on March 14 that it had struck more than 90 Iranian military targets on the island. The U.S. military said its strikes preserved the island's oil infrastructure.   

The command posted a video of the “large-scale precision strike” showing bombings of air defenses, a naval base, an airport control tower and a helicopter hangar. Iranian media reported more than 15 explosions on the island.  

In a recent interview, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent did not rule out future operations targeting the small outcropping, building on Trump's threats to target Iran's oil and energy infrastructure. Appearing on NBC News' "Meet the Press" on March 22, Bessent said, “What could happen with Kharg Island? We’ll see.”

Joe Kent, former head of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center who resigned on March 17 in protest of the war, slammed the idea of a U.S. invasion of the island as "disastrous" in a recent interview with the Washington Post.

Iran's Defense Council warned on March 23 that it could deploy various types of mines if the United States were to blockade Kharg Island, Reuters reported.

Contributing: Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY.

Kathryn Palmer is a politics reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at[email protected] and on X @KathrynPlmr. Sign up for her daily politics newsletterhere.