Trump Administration Weighs Seizing Iran’s Kharg Island as Marines Sail Toward Gulf
The Trump administration has ordered additional Marines and amphibious ships to the Middle East — including roughly 2,200 Marines from the 31st MEU aboard USS Tripoli and another ~2,500 Marines from the 11th MEU with three amphibious assault ships such as USS Boxer — while Pentagon planners have developed detailed contingency plans, including potential deployments of elements of the 82nd Airborne and the Global Response Force and procedures for detaining captured Iranian personnel. Among options under discussion is an amphibious operation to seize Iran’s Kharg Island to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or secure sensitive material, a high‑risk, major combat operation likely to draw Iranian missile, drone and mine attacks; the White House says it is “not planning to send ground troops” even as planning and deployments continue.
📌 Key Facts
- Pentagon officials have developed detailed plans and submitted specific requests to deploy U.S. ground forces into Iran; the White House publicly says it is “not planning to send ground troops” while defending the Pentagon’s contingency planning as providing the president with “maximum optionality.”
- Thousands of Marines are being moved to the Middle East: roughly 2,200 Marines from the 31st MEU embarked on USS Tripoli (from Okinawa), an additional ~2,500 Marines from the 11th MEU and three amphibious assault ships (including USS Boxer) have been ordered from San Diego, and these deployments effectively double recent Marine forces sent from Japan.
- Military planners and analysts are openly discussing possible missions for the deployed forces, including reopening the Strait of Hormuz, seizing Iran’s Kharg Island, or supporting an operation to secure roughly 1,000 pounds of enriched uranium reportedly at issue.
- The administration is actively considering an amphibious operation to seize and potentially hold Kharg Island as leverage against Tehran amid rising U.S. gas prices; U.S. Central Command recently struck more than 90 targets on Kharg, and the president has publicly claimed those raids “totally obliterated” military targets while sparing oil infrastructure.
- Analysts warn that any operation to seize Kharg would be a major combat operation likely to produce U.S. casualties because the island lies within range of Iranian missiles and drones and Iranian forces are expected to resist.
- A notional assault package described by analysts would have Marines from USS Tripoli come ashore under cover from U.S. Navy destroyers (providing anti‑missile and anti‑drone protection), with support from Air Force aircraft and Army Apache helicopters to counter drones.
- Transit to Kharg requires passing the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has reportedly begun mining by some accounts; U.S. demining and minesweeping capacity is limited, making minesweeping a major vulnerability for such an operation.
- The military has held planning meetings on how to detain and process captured Iranian soldiers and paramilitary operatives — including decisions about where detainees would be sent — if ground troops are ordered into Iran.
📊 Relevant Data
Kharg Island handles approximately 90% of Iran's crude oil exports, which are shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, a passage that normally facilitates around 20% of the world's oil trade.
An overview of Iran's energy industry and infrastructure — Reuters
In fiscal year 2023, White enlisted recruits in the U.S. Marine Corps comprised 43% of the total, down from 58% in fiscal year 2018, indicating a decline in White representation in the branch likely involved in amphibious assaults.
Iran's ethnic minorities, such as Kurds, have faced heightened repression and played a key role in protests and resistance against the regime from 2022 to 2026, potentially contributing to internal instability that could affect military operations.
Punishing Vulnerability: Iran's Minority Crackdown After the 12-Day War — Newlines Institute
In a March 2026 Quinnipiac poll, 89% of Democrats, 60% of independents, and only 11% of Republicans opposed U.S. military action against Iran, showing stark partisan divides in public support.
U.S. Military Action Against Iran: Over Half Of Voters Oppose It, 74% Say U.S. Should Stay Out, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds — Quinnipiac University Poll
During the 1990-1991 Gulf War, a major U.S. military operation involving oil infrastructure in the region resulted in approximately 294 U.S. fatalities and 467 wounded, providing a historical benchmark for casualties in similar Persian Gulf conflicts.
Ranking Every Major U.S. Military Operation Since 1945, by Casualties — 24/7 Wall St.
📰 Source Timeline (4)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Roughly 2,200 Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit on Okinawa have been embarked on USS Tripoli since March 13 and are due to arrive in the Gulf region in the coming days, according to analysts tracking U.S. naval movements.
- The administration is actively considering an amphibious operation to seize and potentially hold Kharg Island, explicitly framed as a way to gain leverage over Tehran amid record‑fast U.S. gas‑price increases.
- Analysts say any operation to open the Strait of Hormuz that includes seizing Kharg would be a ‘major combat operation’ likely to produce U.S. casualties, since Kharg lies within range of Iranian missiles and drones and Iran ‘will fight back.’
- The article describes a notional assault package: Marines from Tripoli coming ashore under cover from U.S. Navy destroyers providing anti‑missile and anti‑drone coverage, plus Air Force aircraft and Army Apache helicopters to counter drones.
- It notes that getting Tripoli to Kharg requires transiting a Strait of Hormuz that Iran has ‘by some reports’ begun mining, underscoring that U.S. demining capacity is thin and minesweeping is a major vulnerability.
- U.S. Central Command recently ran a bombing campaign on more than 90 targets on Kharg Island, with Trump boasting online that the raid ‘totally obliterated every MILITARY target’ on Iran’s ‘crown jewel’ island while saying he spared oil infrastructure ‘for reasons of decency.’
- Confirms the administration has ordered an additional 2,500 Marines from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit and three amphibious assault ships, including USS Boxer, to deploy from San Diego toward the Middle East.
- Establishes that this new order effectively doubles the number of Marines being sent, on top of a similar deployment of roughly 2,500 Marines and three warships from Japan last week.
- Specifies potential missions military experts are now openly discussing for these Marines: helping reopen the Strait of Hormuz, seizing Iran’s Kharg Island, or aiding a special-operations effort to secure roughly 1,000 pounds of enriched uranium reportedly at issue.
- Notes that Trump said in the Oval Office he is 'not putting troops anywhere' even as these deployments are underway, underscoring a gap between public statements and operational reality.
- Pentagon officials have developed detailed plans and submitted specific requests for deploying U.S. ground forces into Iran, according to multiple sources briefed on the discussions.
- The U.S. is preparing to deploy elements of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and the Army’s Global Response Force into the Middle East region as part of potential Iran contingencies.
- Thousands of Marines are already being moved to the Middle East, with three U.S. warships and about 2,200 Marines from a Marine Expeditionary Unit having departed California earlier this week — the second such MEU since the war began.
- The military has held meetings on how to detain and process captured Iranian soldiers and paramilitary operatives, including where they would be sent, if ground troops are ordered into Iran.
- The White House publicly insists Trump is "not planning to send ground troops anywhere at this time," while simultaneously defending the Pentagon’s extensive contingency planning as providing the president with "maximum optionality."