A scrubby island in the Gulf that is roughly one-third the size of Manhattan, Kharg Island is the nerve centre of the Iranian oil industry — and at the heart of US President Donald Trump’s latest efforts to pressure Tehran.

On Monday, Trump vowed that a failure by Iran to agree a deal to end the war could see the United States “completely obliterating” the export hub.

A day earlier, he had said the United States could take the island, eyed by the Pentagon for ground operations, “very easily”.

So what are Trump’s options, and how might Iran react if he presses on this pressure point?

What is Kharg Island?

It may be a mere scrap of land, but Kharg handles around 90% of Iran’s crude exports, according to a report by US bank JP Morgan.

Located in the north of the Gulf, around 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the Iranian coast and more than 500 kilometres from the Strait of Hormuz, it has no oil wells.

But it has Iran’s largest oil terminal, oil pipelines, storage tanks and related infrastructure.

It also has military facilities, some of which have already been hit by Israeli-US strikes.

On March 13, “US forces executed a large-scale precision strike on Kharg Island”, Centcom, the US military command for the region, said.

“The strike destroyed naval mine storage facilities, missile storage bunkers and multiple other military sites. US forces successfully struck more than 90 Iranian military targets on Kharg Island, while preserving the oil infrastructure.”

Sources close to US intelligence services told US broadcaster CNN Iran had deployed additional troops and defence systems to the area in recent weeks, including MANPAD-type surface-to-air missiles and mines.

Trump’s options?

There appear to be three routes for US forces wishing to seize the island — an airborne attack, an amphibious operation, or a combination of the two.

The Pentagon is currently moving US paratroopers and Marines into the area.

“(The) US combat force build-up sets the stage for (a) potential ground offensive in Iran,” said US think tank Soufan.

Centcom’s former commander, General Joseph Votel, told The War Zone website this month it would not take that many soldiers to seize Kharg.

“On a small island like Kharg, I imagine you’d need a battalion of Marines. We are therefore talking about a force of 800 to 1,000 men, perhaps a little fewer, certainly not much more,” he said.

But taking Kharg and holding onto it “are two different things”, stressed Professor Phillips O’Brien of the University of St Andrews in Scotland.

He said the US military would struggle to retain the island within range of Iranian missiles and drones.

Just 60 kilometres away is the city of Bushehr, an important military centre “from which the Iranians defend the entire northern part of the Gulf, including Kharg”, noted Pierre Razoux of French research centre FMES.

Why do it?

Trump’s war goals remain hazy. It is unclear whether he primarily wants to force Iran to reopen shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, force regime change in Tehran, or coerce the Iranians into concessions on their nuclear or ballistic missile programmes.

In the short term, capturing Kharg could give Washington leverage to force Iran to negotiate — presumably on Trump’s terms, given the country’s dependence on oil revenue, the Soufan Centre said.

It might not have much effect in reopening the Gulf to shipping, however, because Iran controls a string of other islands in the Strait of Hormuz.

And if the Iranians choose not to cede to Trump’s demands, “What does the US do?”, O’Brien wondered.

“Does the US then, out of spite, level all the economic facilities on Kharg?

“That could easily boomerang back in American faces. It means oil prices skyrocket even more and stay high for much longer,” he said.

“It also means Iran will be incentivised to shut down the traffic in the Straits for even longer. If they cannot get their own oil out, why let anyone else’s?”

Top Iranian officials have condoled the martyrdom of Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy, praising his role in strengthening Iran’s maritime power and resistance.

In a statement released on Monday, the IRGC announced the martyrdom of the IRGC Navy commander following injuries sustained in the US-Israeli aggression against Iran.

The statement added that Tangsiri was wounded after operations that “inflicted heavy damage on enemy facilities and infrastructure and led to the downing of a US fighter jet.”

In his message of condolence, Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, hailed Rear Admiral Tangsiri as a “courageous and valiant” commander who was honored with martyrdom after years of struggle.

Citing a Quranic verse that those slain in the path of God are alive and sustained by their Lord, the Leader said his martyrdom during the ongoing Israeli-American war of aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran stands as “a great source of pride.”

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said the sacrifice would serve as an enduring inspiration for the people of Bushehr, the youth of southern Iran, and the country’s armed forces, who have long safeguarded Iran’s independence and maritime borders, particularly in the Persian Gulf.

The Leader also expressed confidence that Iran’s path of maritime strength and resistance would continue with greater power and determination.

In a separate statement, President Masoud Pezeshkian hailed the martyred IRGC Navy commander, describing his martyrdom as “a great honor for the true men of Iran.”

In his message, the president said the “banner of dignity, resistance, and independence” is raised ever higher with the sacrifice of Iran’s brave fighters.

He praised Rear Admiral Tangsiri’s role in elevating the power, prestige, and authority of the IRGC Navy in the Persian Gulf, noting that his leadership had transformed it into a formidable force capable of standing “as a mighty barrier against aggressors and the greedy.”

Pezeshkian said the martyred commander’s effectiveness had made him “a thorn in the side of ruthless enemies,” who viewed his elimination as a major objective.

He stressed that martyrdom represents a profound honor and extended condolences to the Leader, the commander’s comrades in the IRGC and the army, and the Iranian nation.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, in a statement, described Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri as a shining example of courage, steadfastness, and loyalty to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.

He noted that the martyred IRGC Navy commander’s resolve “was never shaken even in the face of the formidable assault of American warships, striking such a powerful blow to the tools of arrogance that they withdrew and docked at the farthest coasts.”

The parliament speaker further warned that “if the enemy thinks that eliminating the brave will erase courage, they may test their luck – and will face the crushing response of the successors of this honored martyr.”

Iran’s judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, in a statement, paid tribute to Rear Admiral Tangsiri, describing him as a “valiant and selfless commander of Islam” and one of the renowned heroes of the “Ramadan War,” who “turned the day of the American-Zionist aggressors into night.”

He said the IRGC Navy commander, after years of sincere struggle, attained the “great victory of martyrdom” and “the noblest form of death.”

Ejei highlighted Tangsiri’s lineage, linking him to historic resistance figures of southern Iran such as Rais Ali Delvari, and said he had dealt heavy blows to enemy forces while strengthening Iran’s defensive shield, particularly along its southern shores.

According to the judiciary chief, these efforts had effectively erased the enemy’s ambitions of a ground invasion from their strategic calculations.

He also expressed confidence that the martyred commander’s comrades in the IRGC Navy would continue his path with greater strength, neutralizing enemy aggression and acting with the same resolve in offensive operations.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi hailed the martyrdom of Tangsiri as the culmination of years of dedicated service in defending the security and independence of the Islamic Republic.

Araghchi described the martyred commander as a tireless and devoted commander who led the frontlines of Iran’s dignity and military power.

“Rear Admiral Tangsiri, hailing from the brave lineage of Tangestan, elevated the strength of the IRGC Navy in the azure waters of the Persian Gulf with unparalleled prudence,” he said, “ensuring that in critical moments, it would stand as a mighty barrier against aggressors.”

He emphasized that the path of such warriors would continue with unwavering resolve, and that their sacrifice would ensure the continued honor, sovereignty, and independence of Iran.

A top commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says the Israeli regime must come to terms with new realities in West Asia, which include the growing dominance of the resistance forces in the region.

Brigadier General Esmail Qa’ani, who leads the IRGC’s Quds Force, said on Monday that increasing attacks on the Israeli regime by the Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah and Yemen’s Ansarullah movement have put an end to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s dreams to expand the regime’s “security belt.”

Hezbollah has been launching attacks on Israel since the early days of the US-Israeli aggression on Iran in late February.

Ansarullah said over the weekend that it had joined the fight by carrying out missile attacks on areas in the south of the Israeli-occupied territories.

“Netanyahu would have liked to see the security belt project expand in the region, but the smart and brave fire conducted by our Hezbollah brothers in the north and the Ansarullah in the south have exposed the regime’s false promises to its settlers,” Qa’ani said in a post on social media.

The general said that the coordinated attacks by Iran, Hezbollah, and Ansarullah on targets in the Israeli-occupied territories are exactly what was once sought by martyred commanders of the resistance.

“There is only a one united war room for the resistance front. Get used to the new order of the region,” he said in the Farsi-language post.

Experts say Hezbollah’s fight in support of Iran has put a huge strain on the Israeli regime at a time when it is grappling with barrages of missiles and drones fired from Iran.

They say Ansarullah’s contribution, especially if it expands to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to restrict shipping in those waterways, would lead to a further rise in international energy and commodity prices.

Iran has already imposed restrictions on transit through the Strait of Hormuz, causing a major disruption to the flow of energy to Asia and the rest of the world.