A military blueprint that avoids a mainland war…
If Kharg Island is the economic jugular of Iran’s regime, the next question is practical: how could the United States actually seize it without triggering a large-scale war on the Iranian mainland? The answer lies in a precise maritime operation combining the stealth of Navy SEALs with the expeditionary power of U.S. Marines.
How to Take Kharg
Well, once our current bombing campaign has fully established air superiority and degraded Iran’s ability to respond effectively anywhere near the island — Israel has reportedly already neutralized major Iranian air defense launchers and command structures on the island — U.S. Marines and Navy SEALS would work in tandem.
SEALs would play a critical, covert initial role, potentially operating from expeditionary sea bases (ESB) like the USS Lewis B. Puller or other similar platforms.
ESBs act as floating “lily pads,” allowing SEALs to stay in the fight for weeks without needing to return to a land base. This is crucial because land bases in Qatar or the UAE are often within range of Iranian ballistic missiles, and these allies may not support U.S. strikes on Iran.
Some of the SEAL tasks would include:
- Clearing naval mines in the approaches to Kharg Island and the surrounding shipping lanes to ensure safe passage for larger amphibious forces.
- Gathering real-time intelligence on Iranian troop movements and defenses. Mapping landing beaches and helicopter landing zones.
- Conducting surgical small team direct action strikes on specific high-value targets, such as anti-ship missile sites or radar stations, prior to the main landing.
- Sabotaging specific pumping mechanisms that allow oil to flow, ensuring the facility is inoperable for the regime but repairable for the future. Some, or all, of the SEALs could remain to join up with the Marine assault force.
The Marines, as part of an MEU/ARG (Amphibious Ready Group), would then lead the full physical seizure of the island. Since none are currently deployed in theater, this would require the deployment of a MEU/ARG from the Caribbean or Pacific to the Gulf soon.
MEUs, centered around a 1,200 Marine reinforced infantry battalion with light armored vehicles and some heavy weapons (such as HIMARS rocket launchers), are designed to be self-sustaining in combat for 15 days.
The infantry Marines are backed by a reinforced squadron of transport and attack helicopters, tiltrotor aircraft, as well as fixed-wing jets aboard a ship. The MEU is capable of conducting amphibious, special operations, and crisis response missions via the Special Operations Capable (SOC) designation.
Three Marine infantry companies and a weapons company would be inserted via a combination of troop transport helicopters (e.g., CH-46s, CH-53s, and V-22 Osprey tiltrotors), landing craft, and hovercraft, supported by Marine, Navy, and Air Force attack aircraft, drones, and naval gunfire.
The assault would aim to rapidly neutralize any remaining Iranian ground forces, secure the critical oil export terminals and related infrastructure, and establish a defensive perimeter. This would secure control of the island’s key facilities and hold it to effectively stop Iran’s primary oil exports and revenue.
Israel has already bombed both the platforms on Kharg and the onshore processing plant, but it would be better to seize the platforms and either shut off the wells or divert the gas to nations willing to cooperate.
Turkey, for example, would probably put its payments in escrow as long as it got its regular supplies. Ultimately, this might be the smartest and most effective play to ensure the rapid collapse of the regime and avoid an extended U.S. military intervention in Iran.
How Might Iran Respond?
First, Iran’s leadership has been decimated, and its military command and control will continue to be reduced and degraded; its naval forces are rapidly vanishing, making a coordinated military response very difficult, especially 15 miles offshore.
Second, any Iranian military attempt to confront U.S. forces would not only divert forces from attacking Iranians in the streets but would also end with those Revolutionary Guardsmen losing badly to superior U.S. forces, especially our dominant electronic warfare, air, and missile power.
The IRGC, of course, could target Kharg with ballistic missiles, but that would end Iranian oil exports for months to come, crippling the regime, and again leaving security forces and leadership unpaid. Providing anti-missile air defense to the island would also be a key objective of U.S. forces.
Iran could launch attacks against the oil facilities of our Gulf allies, but they are already attacking them to some degree.
A former Trump energy adviser, quoted on background by E&E NEWS, argued that seizing Kharg so early in the campaign carries risks to U.S. forces.
“They are inflicting problems on themselves anyway,” the adviser said, referring to Iran. “Once their missile and drone threats have been neutralized, then perhaps.”
Well, as I noted above, it would take an MEU two weeks to arrive in the Gulf, even as SEALs arrive earlier. That would be a good time to send in the Marines.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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