The Perilous Options in the Strait of Hormuz

U.S. Naval Institute ^ | April 2026 | Michael Baucum

[Retain Mike]

One way to squeeze Iran would be to seize Kharg Island. Pipelines from Iran's major oil fields—Ahvaz, Marun, and Gachsaran—feed into the island's long jetties, which sit in waters deep enough to accommodate supertankers. The facilities on Kharg process 90 percent of Iran's crude exports. These exports fund the regime's military operations, proxy networks, and nuclear program. If the United States can seize and control Kharg Island, it could effectively cut off the Iranian economy and force the regime to the negotiating table—or fuel the internal unrest needed for the regime to collapse.

The Pentagon appears to be giving the President exactly that option. The Tripoli ARG—carrying F-35B fighters, MV-22 Ospreys, and 2,200 Marines of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU)—is near the theater. The Boxer ARG with the 11th MEU has now been accelerated from the West Coast. Together, they represent the largest Marine amphibious force assembled in the Middle East in years. Their mission has not been officially stated. It does not need to be.

There is one big problem. To reach Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, these ships must transit the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. Navy crews would have seconds to react to an inbound missile or drone swarm. If a single weapon gets through, it could inflict mass casualties and transform a calculated military operation into a national trauma that inflames U.S. public opinion and pulls the United States deeper into the very kind of war President Trump has spent years promising to avoid. Even if Marines successfully seize Kharg Island, holding it against unrelenting drone and missile barrages from the Iranian mainland 20 miles away would be a difficult fight.

[Chad_the_Impaler]

Kharg Island was built with redundancy, parallel systems, and multiple loading points. The pumping and loading infrastructure is fed by multiple underwater pipelines, and it is distributed, not centralized. Kharg Island is designed as a hardened, resilient, multi‑node export system.

[If You Want It Fixed - Fix It]

just blow it.

[Retain Mike]

Thanks. Looks like mining would be the option to risking our ships and Marines.

[Theophilus]

We should take Qeshm.

[Steven Tyler]

A second issue.
Boats supplying Arab countries pass through the strait.
Arab countries, plus Iran, ship their oil and exports through the strait.

I do not understand why Oman and the UAE cannot have some sort of control over the strait.

Better option. Park ur battleships downstream outside the straight to control all traffic in and out of the chokepoint

[Retain Mike]

"Better option. Park our battleships downstream outside the straight to control all traffic in and out of the chokepoint

Now that sounds like an idea worth considering.