US Considers Seizing Iran's Kharg Island as 21-Day War Escalates

Three weeks into a war between the United States, Israel, and Iran, the conflict has moved beyond tit-for-tat strikes into something more deliberate and territorial. On March 20, 2026, the Trump administration was weighing a dramatic escalation: the military occupation or blockade of Kharg Island, Iran's crucial oil export hub in the Persian Gulf, as leverage to force Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz—one of the world's most critical shipping lanes for global energy supplies.

The war began when Israeli forces attacked Iran's South Pars gas field, one of the largest in the world. Tehran responded by striking Qatar's Ras Laffan Industrial City, which Qatar's state oil company said suffered extensive damage, and firing missiles at Saudi Arabia and other Gulf energy targets. The cycle of retaliation has not stopped. By the third week, both sides were systematically targeting the other's infrastructure. Iranian media reported that joint US-Israeli strikes hit 16 cargo vessels in a key Iranian port. Israel's Haifa oil refinery was struck by Iranian missiles, forcing a temporary shutdown. A Kuwait oil refinery caught fire after a drone strike. The Strait of Hormuz itself became a war zone—a sailor aboard the bulk carrier Ocean Pretty reported his vessel was hit by gunfire and rocket attacks while trapped in the waterway, which had been blocked for weeks.

The human toll mounted steadily. Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, said US-Israeli attacks had killed more than 1,300 people, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior officials. Among the dead were Ali Larijani, Iran's national security chief; Gholamreza Soleimani, a top commander of the IRGC's Basij force; and Esmail Khatib, the intelligence minister. Hours before his death in an airstrike, IRGC spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini had promised "surprises" for Israel and vowed that Iran's missile production would continue despite the war. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency warned the actual death toll might be even higher, estimating at least 1,858 killed, including both civilians and military personnel. Iran's leadership announced that Mojtaba Khamenei, the Supreme Leader's son, had assumed the top position, releasing a video of him teaching religious studies to students.

The war's ripple effects were reshaping global energy markets and geopolitics in real time. Saudi Arabian oil officials warned that if supply disruptions and the Strait of Hormuz closure persisted until late April, crude prices could surge past $180 a barrel. Vietnam's government announced an overnight petrol price increase of more than 20 percent. Pakistan's fuel reserves were critically low—crude oil for just seven days, liquefied petroleum gas for nine. Air France-KLM's CEO noted that 600 aircraft were grounded, with 100 normally serving European routes, exposing Europe's heavy dependence on Gulf carriers. The EU called for a moratorium on strikes against energy infrastructure and demanded the Strait be reopened. Switzerland announced it would not authorize exports of war materiel to the United States for the duration of the conflict, citing its military neutrality policy.

The United States was moving to consolidate its position. The State Department approved $16.5 billion in arms sales to Gulf allies and $7 billion in weapons for the United Arab Emirates. At the same time, the Trump administration was exploring whether to seize Kharg Island—a move that would represent direct territorial control and a dramatic escalation from air strikes to occupation. Netanyahu said he envisioned pipelines carrying Middle Eastern oil and gas across the Arabian Peninsula to Israeli ports, bypassing the Hormuz Strait and Iran's reach entirely. He also claimed Iran was being "decimated" and its leadership was in disarray, though the appointment of a new Supreme Leader suggested the Iranian state apparatus, however damaged, remained functional.

The conflict was drawing in actors from across the globe. An Israeli army reservist who served on the Iron Dome air defense system was arrested on suspicion of passing secrets to Iran. The IRGC claimed to have arrested 178 spies working for the US and Israel since the war began. Ukraine sent air defense experts to the Gulf to assist allied forces, and they discovered that some PATRIOT missile batteries were firing up to eight missiles at a single target—a tactic that surprised even experienced Ukrainian operators. Sri Lanka rejected a US request to station two armed warplanes at its airport. Iran's Foreign Minister warned Britain that any US use of British military bases would be considered "participation in aggression" and would damage Tehran-London relations.

By late March, the conflict had become a test of whether the international order could contain a regional war or whether it would metastasize into something larger. The Strait of Hormuz remained closed. Energy prices were climbing. The death toll continued to rise. And the Trump administration was preparing to move beyond strikes into occupation—a step that would transform the nature of the conflict entirely.