How a US invasion of Kharg Island could play out
The Story
The Times
3.9 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 31 March 2026
⏱️ 31 minutes
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Summary
Donald Trump has threatened that the US would “obliterate Kharg Island” if a deal with Tehran was not reached. The US president has suggested he’d put boots on the ground to seize control of Iran's key oil export terminal. So why does the island matter so much? How would a ground invasion work? And just how risky is it to the US troops involved?
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Guests:
- George Grylls, Washington correspondent, The Times.
- Sir Simon Mayall, ex-Lieutenant General in the British army and author.
Host: Manveen Rana.
Producer: Harry Stott, Olivia Case.
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Read more: Can the US take Kharg Island? How an invasion could play out
Further listening: Q&A: What we know (and don't know) about Trump's Iran talks
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | From The Times and the Sunday Times, this is the story. |
| 0:06.0 | I'm Manvien Rana. |
| 0:08.0 | In real estate terms, it's a small, rocky outcrop, just 8 km long and about 5 kilometers wide. |
| 0:17.0 | But this little island in the Persian Gulf, off the coast of Iran, has certainly |
| 0:22.8 | caught the attention of the man who likes to think of himself as the property deal maker in |
| 0:28.3 | chief. We attacked Carg Island except for the area where the oil is, I call it the pipes. |
| 0:35.8 | We left the pipes, but it may not stay that way. |
| 0:40.0 | Just one simple word and the pipes will be gone too. |
| 0:43.0 | In fact, for Donald Trump, Kag Island has been an obsession since 1988. |
| 0:50.1 | Long before he was in politics, he said, I'd be harsh on Iran. |
| 0:54.7 | They've been beating us psychologically, making us look like a bunch of fools. |
| 0:58.2 | One bullet shot in one of our men or our ships, and I'd do a number on Karg Island. |
| 1:03.8 | I'd go in and take it. |
| 1:06.4 | Carg Island matters because it's also Iran's key oil export hub. 90% of the country's oil |
| 1:13.8 | passes through the island and millions of barrels are stored there. And now, President Trump |
| 1:20.7 | has firmly set his sights on it. Donald Trump told the financial times, maybe we take Harge Island, |
| 1:27.3 | maybe we don't. |
| 1:28.4 | We have a lot of options. I don't think they have any defense. We could take it very easily. |
| 1:35.3 | With thousands of American troops set for the Middle East, the rhetoric is ramping up. |
| 1:41.7 | Yesterday, President Trump threatened to obliterate Kaga Island. But the Iranian regime |
| 1:47.8 | has made it clear that it isn't going down without a fight. Iranian parliament speaker, |
| 1:54.0 | Kalibov, has said that there's going to be fire raining on American soldiers. We're |
... |
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