US Targets Kharg Island in Bid to Disrupt Iranian Energy Trade

The United States has set its sights on Kharg Island, which is home to Iran's energy export infrastructure. The island sits in the northern end of the Gulf and serves as the primary hub for exporting Iranian crude oil.

A U.S. blockade of Iranian oil exports has suspended flows from Kharg in recent weeks, but a move by the U.S. to capture the island could severely disrupt Iran's energy trade.

The OPEC member pumps 2 million barrels per day of crude oil and has fields and facilities concentrated in the southwestern provinces of Khuzestan for oil, and Bushehr for gas and condensate from the giant offshore South Pars gas field.