US eyes seizing Iran’s oil lifeline — but it may not cripple Tehran
U.S. officials and analysts are weighing whether seizing Iran’s main oil export hub could deal a crippling financial blow — but experts warn the high-risk move may not shut off...
By Fox News · Fox News
U.S. officials and analysts are weighing whether seizing Iran’s main oil export hub could deal a crippling financial blow — but experts warn the high-risk move may not shut off Tehran’s revenue as quickly or completely as expected. Analysts say U.S. planners face a high-stakes decision: whether seizing Kharg Island would actually disrupt Iran’s oil revenue or leave key export flows intact while exposing American forces to sustained attack. Options under discussion range from interdicting tankers at sea to striking export infrastructure from the air, approaches some argue could pressure Tehran’s finances without putting troops on the ground. "There’s a big debate going on right now," R.P. Newman, Marine veteran and counterterrorism analyst, told Fox News Digital. Kharg Island handles the vast majority of Iran’s crude oil exports, making it one of the most strategically significant energy nodes in the region and a central pressure point for any effort to economically squeeze Tehran. US TROOPS BRACE FOR ‘HIT-AND-RUN’ GUERILLA ATTACKS AS 82ND AIRBORNE DEPLOYS TO IRAN, MILITARY ANALYST WARNS "We certainly have the ability, military wise, to take it," said R.P. Newman, a Marine veteran and counter-terrorism analyst. Some analysts argue that taking Kharg could deliver an immediate economic shock, cutting off the regime’s primary source of oil revenue and potentially giving Washington leverage in broader negotiations. But such an operation would not be simple. "It would take thousands to do that," he said. U.S. forces already have struck the island hitting more than 90 Iranian military targets, including missile and naval mine facilities, earlier in March while deliberately avoiding oil infrastructure, leaving export operations largely intact. Retired Adm. Kevin Donegan, former commander of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet , said the same objective could be achieved without putting U.S. forces on the island. "You could achieve that desired outcome just by constraining the flow th…