Kharg Island crisis: Houthi threatens to disrupt Bab al-Mandab if US invades Kharg Island
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Kharg Island crisis: Houthi threatens to disrupt Bab al-Mandab if US invades Kharg Island")
This handout image taken by the European Space Agency (ESA) captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite shows a view of Iran's Kharg Island Photograph: (AFP)
Houthis threaten attacks in the Red Sea if the US targets Iran’s Kharg Island. Experts warn that the invasion of Kharg will be a move that could escalate conflict and result in the gradual expansion of the mission due to the failure to reach its objective.
Yemen's Houthi movement has threatened to join the war if Trump plans to invade Kharg Island. In a statement released by Houthi, a representative of the group said that they are ready to take up arms against the US-Israel front and turn Bab al-Mandab into another flashpoint in the conflict. “We will strike American ships in the Red Sea. This war is a fight for the entire Ummah.”
Iran is keeping the threat of ordering Houthis to take up arms in reserve, potentially closing 10 per cent of all global trade. The US has spent around $1bn trying to thwart the attacks of Houthis in the Red Sea in 2024, but failed. Ships were forced to reroute around Africa, with shipping costs going up by 400 per cent.
There had been rumours of the Trump administration capturing the Kharg Island to pressure Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz.
"He wants Hormuz open. If he has to take Kharg Island to make it happen, that's going to happen. If he decides to have a coastal invasion, that's going to happen. But that decision hasn't been made," Axios reported, quoting an unknown senior administration official.
According to a report by the Washington Post US has already dispatched 4,500 sailors and Marines, an infantry battalion landing team with Helicopters, F-35 fighter jets and arnoured vehicle. An Israeli official familiar with the intelligence said to the Washington Post that the plan is “to take the island and the strait."
Trending Stories
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
What are the dangers of a potential mission on Kharg Island?
As Trump mulls over the operation to take over Kharg Island, it does not guarantee any potential success in lowering the oil price or opening up the Strait of Hormuz. Further military analysts and experts suggest that it could result in what they fear is a classic case of mission creep. The Kharg Island sits 25-30 km off the Iranian mainland coast. Along with the coastline lies the Zagros mountain range, approximately 45-50km away. The Marines and military assets deployed on the island will be directly in the line of fire due to the strategic and geographic advantage of the Iranian. Then, more troops will be deployed to assist those already deployed ground troops and turn the scenario into a potentially catastrophic one.
“If we seize Kharg Island, they're going to turn off the spigot on the other end. It's not like we control their oil production,” said Rear Admiral (Ret.) Mark Montgomery to Axios. So bottomline the whole operation has the potential to expose the US military vulnerabilities, dragging them into a prolonged operation. The US is also considering other options, like imposing a naval blockade and preventing tankers from reaching the island.
