{"id":123286,"date":"2026-03-30T20:51:03","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T15:51:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?p=123286"},"modified":"2026-03-30T20:51:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T15:51:04","slug":"what-happens-if-us-tries-to-capture-irans-oil-heartland-kharg-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/123286\/","title":{"rendered":"What Happens If US tries to capture Iran\u2019s Oil Heartland, Kharg Island?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>WASHINGTON(National Times)- US President Donald Trump hinted at possibility of seizing Kharg Island, Iran\u2019s critical oil export hub, a controversial idea he first had decades ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In his interview with British media, POTUS suggested he is still considering the move, sending shockwaves through global energy markets and international diplomacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The notion dates back to 80s, during the final stages of the Iran-Iraq War, when oil tankers were under relentless attack and fears of a global supply shock loomed. At the time, US forces were deployed to protect shipping lanes, absorbing the heavy military costs. Trump, then businessman, argued in newspaper ads that if the US was safeguarding Gulf oil flows, it should also profit, with Kharg Island as the focal point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why is Iran\u2019s Kharg Island so vital?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>For the unversed, Kharg Island handles roughly 90% of Iran\u2019s crude exports, making it the backbone of the country\u2019s oil trade. Oil revenues from Kharg fund Iran\u2019s economy, state operations, military campaigns, and regional influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en.dailypakistan.com.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/what-happens-if-us-tries-to-capture-irans-oil-heartland-kharg-island-news-319885-1-420x199.jpg\" alt=\"What Happens If Us Tries To Capture Irans Oil Heartland Kharg Island \" class=\"wp-image-319888\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Disabling it would hit both Iran\u2019s financial and military capacity, representing a form of economic warfare. Alternative export routes exist but cannot match its scale or efficiency. Capturing the island would require sustained military operations, risking prolonged conflict and Iranian counterattacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Analysts warn that striking Kharg could cripple Iran\u2019s export capacity, putting intense pressure on its leadership. Some experts, however, see Trump\u2019s remarks as strategic signaling, high-stakes move to raise the pressure and influence negotiations rather than a prelude to immediate action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Any attempt to seize the island exposes US forces to missile, drone, and naval strikes. Under international law, taking control of another nation\u2019s economic lifeline could be considered an act of war, complicating alliances and diplomacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It should be noted that disruption at Kharg could trigger Iranian retaliation, especially in&nbsp; Strait of Hormuz, which remained in news, for being chokepoint for global oil flows. Oil markets could spike dramatically, and regional tensions could spiral out of control.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WASHINGTON(National Times)- US President Donald Trump hinted at possibility of seizing Kharg Island, Iran\u2019s critical oil export hub, a controversial idea he first had decades ago. In his interview with British media, POTUS suggested he is still considering the move, sending shockwaves through global energy markets and international diplomacy. The notion dates back to 80s, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":123287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-123286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What Happens If US tries to capture Iran\u2019s Oil Heartland, Kharg Island? - Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/123286\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Happens If US tries to capture Iran\u2019s Oil Heartland, Kharg Island? - Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WASHINGTON(National Times)- US President Donald Trump hinted at possibility of seizing Kharg Island, Iran\u2019s critical oil export hub, a controversial idea he first had decades ago. 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The notion dates back to 80s, [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/123286\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-30T15:51:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-30T15:51:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-670x370-25-11.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"670\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"370\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"humza Jahangir\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"humza Jahangir\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/123286\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/123286\/\",\"name\":\"What Happens If US tries to capture Iran\u2019s Oil Heartland, Kharg Island? - Nation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/123286\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/123286\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-670x370-25-11.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-30T15:51:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-30T15:51:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/123286\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/123286\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/123286\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-670x370-25-11.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-670x370-25-11.png\",\"width\":670,\"height\":370},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/123286\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Happens If US tries to capture Iran\u2019s Oil Heartland, Kharg Island?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/\",\"name\":\"Nation\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16\",\"name\":\"humza Jahangir\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"humza Jahangir\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/author\/humza\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Happens If US tries to capture Iran\u2019s Oil Heartland, Kharg Island? - Nation","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/123286\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Happens If US tries to capture Iran\u2019s Oil Heartland, Kharg Island? - Nation","og_description":"WASHINGTON(National Times)- US President Donald Trump hinted at possibility of seizing Kharg Island, Iran\u2019s critical oil export hub, a controversial idea he first had decades ago. 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