Merve Aydogan
25 March 2026•Update: 25 March 2026
HAMILTON, Canada
Iran has been strengthening defenses on the key oil-exporting Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf as the Trump administration considers a possible military operation to seize the territory, according to a report Wednesday.
Sources told CNN that Tehran has deployed additional portable missile systems and laid mines along the shoreline of Kharg Island in recent weeks.
"Iran has also been laying traps including anti-personnel and anti-armor mines around the island," sources told CNN.
Noting that the island processes nearly 90% of Iran's crude oil exports, the report pointed to Washington's possible plans of seizing it to pressure Tehran into reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
CNN's military analyst, retired Adm. James Stavridis, warned about the grave risks of a ground operation and argued that "Iranians are clever and ruthless."
He claimed that Iranian forces would do "everything they can to inflict maximum casualties" on American troops.
Meanwhile, Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, warned on Wednesday that any attempt to occupy Iranian territory would be met with strikes against the infrastructure of any supporting country.
Kharg Island lies 30 kilometers (19 miles) off Iran’s coast in the Persian Gulf and is considered the hub of Iran’s oil exports.
The US and Israel have been carrying out airstrikes on Iran since Feb. 28, killing more than 1,340 people to date, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, along with Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, causing casualties and damage to infrastructure, while disrupting global markets and aviation.
