Iran's oil lifeline Kharg Island hit by US: Why this small coral island is crucial for Tehran

The United States on Tuesday said its forces struck military targets on Kharg Island, a critical oil hub for Iran. US Vice President JD Vance seemed to confirm reports of US strikes on Kharg Island on Tuesday, ahead of President Donald Trump’s 8 PM ET Tuesday night deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz.

It is “my understanding ... that we were to strike some military targets on Kharg Island. I believe we’ve done so," Vance said. However, the country didn’t target Kharg Island's oil infrastructure, a US official told news agency Associated Press.

Since the start of the war on 28 February, the US had struck Kharg Island for the first time on 13 March.

Trump had also hinted at seizing the strategic island. “Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t. We have a lot of options,” Trump told the Financial Times. “It would also mean we had to be there [in Kharg Island] for a while,” he was quoted as saying.

Where is Kharg Island?

The island is located in the northern Persian Gulf, just 20 miles off Iran's coast.

According to the Council on Foreign Relations, the island is known as the “Forbidden Island” due to its role as a critical energy hub.

As per the report, Kharg Island is irregular in shape and measures only roughly 8 square miles—about one-third the size of Manhattan.

The island is heavily guarded by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, with strict limitations on who can enter.

As per NASA, Kharg Island is a rocky limestone island. It is unique because it is one of the few islands in the Persian Gulf with freshwater which has collected within the porous limestone.

Why is Kharg Island so important?

The small coral island is said to be Iran’s oil lifeline, as the majority of Iran's crude flows through Kharg Island. The island has long been key to Iran’s economy.

Kharg Island is Iran’s primary oil export terminal in the Persian Gulf, NASA explains. The small island in the Persian Gulf handles roughly 90% of the country’s crude exports.

It handles the majority of the country’s crude oil shipments, most of which are destined for Asia—predominantly China, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.

A declassified CIA document from 1984 described Kharg Island’s oil facilities as “the most vital in Iran’s oil system.” The document states that Kharg Island's oil facilities are extensive.

"Its export capacity of some 9-10 million barrels per day makes it the largest single oil export terminal in the Persian Gulf," the document read, adding that “their continued operation is essential to Iran’s economic well-being.”

The document added that the combined crude export capacity of the Kharg Island terminal facilities is about 9-10 million b/d, although pipelines from the mainland can only deliver 6.3 million b/d to the terminal.

On 8 March, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote on social media that destroying the island’s oil infrastructure “will cripple Iran’s economy and topple the regime.”

Recently, it has become a flashpoint in the US-Israeli war on Iran.