By Tommy Acosta
Sedona, AZ — There is a difference in this world between those who read between the lines and those who don’t.
Some people wait for events to happen and then react. Others watch closely and see them unfolding before they occur.
Such may be the case with the current U.S. incursion into Iran and the systematic demolition of its cities, infrastructure, and oil industry.
If one reads between the lines, it is not hard to imagine what may come next: boots on the ground on the blood-rich soil of Iran.
But seasoned students of warfare know something important. Invading Iran directly through its mainland would be an extraordinarily costly and foolish undertaking.
Instead, the logical target is the island of Kharg, a seven -by-eight square mile island off the coast of Iran from where Iran exports 90 percent of its oil.
That may explain why amphibious landing ships and thousands of additional Marines are reportedly moving into the region.
From a purely strategic standpoint, the plan would be straightforward. Neutralize whatever Iranian security forces are stationed on the island. Destroy or repel any small craft attempting to approach from the mainland. Secure the oil facilities quickly and decisively.
Iran would face an impossible dilemma.
Launching large-scale missile or drone strikes on Kharg could destroy the very oil infrastructure that represents one of the country’s most valuable economic lifelines — its own “golden calf.” Their hands would be tied.
Flying troops in would be suicidal. Sailing reinforcements would be nearly impossible without a strong navy. Small boats would be vulnerable and easily picked off.
Historically, Kharg Island is more than an oil terminal. It has long been home to ancient archaeological remains and has served as an important trading hub for centuries.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kharg_Island
If such a move were made, the strategic logic would be simple: take Kharg and force Iran into a position where it must negotiate to get it back.
Energy companies would certainly remember that the island’s facilities were once operated by foreign oil interests before they were expropriated by Iran decades ago.
If occupied, Kharg would quickly become what some might call a “forbidden island.”
From a military perspective, the operation itself could be relatively quick, with limited casualties compared to a mainland invasion.
Neutralize Iranian defenders. Secure the oil infrastructure. Leave the workers and engineers in place to maintain operations.
Meanwhile, continued pressure on Iran’s remaining leadership and infrastructure could weaken the government further.
Americans might pay a little more at the gas pump in the short term.
But if Washington were ultimately able to declare victory and consolidate control of Kharg Island, supporters of such a strategy would argue that the situation might eventually settle into a new and uneasy normal.
The question is whether such a move would bring stability to the region — or ignite a much larger and more dangerous conflict.
Either way, if Kharg Island becomes the next chess piece in this war, the world will soon find out.
18 Comments
Good Bad or Indifferent, doesn’t matter what the outcome is! What matters is American Service Members have died and will continue to die (as in DEAD)for Trumps lies and zero clarification of what the hell we are doing there in the first place.
Now as I’ve previously stated he’s begging NATO to help and they’re telling him to go pound sand! Why because he’s fricken insane and they all know the danger of doing anything with the criminal!
Good luck securing an island surrounded by armed proxy militias who will do severe damage to our military without the Allies that our perfumed King calls losers, the enemy within, failed countries etc.
Unfortunate our troops will reap what you sow when you insult the war dead of NATO or HATO (for your Putin puppets) who died fighting in the Gulf on behalf of M’erican lies following 9/12 Mr Dumb Ass-
US allies rebuff Trump’s request for support in Strait of Hormuz
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/us-allies-rebuff-trumps-request-support-strait-hormuz-2026-03-16/
Of course he lies and claims “help is on the way” when in reality nobody but Israel and Russia are going to help MAGA America do anything ever again.
Thank you, Tommy – this is an astute observation of a complicated issue. On one hand, we have the most violent and irrational theocracy of the last fifty years, in essance, a petulant two-year, that world leaders have allowed to continue throwing a temper tantrum (for whatever their rationalization may be), and now, way late, we have an appropriate disciplinary action that the two-year old is screaming about. We can all imagine how much worse the screaming will get if we take away it’s favorite toy – Kharg Island. Every adult knows this is the appropriate choice, and also knows the screaming that will ensue. But the world will be a far more stable and productive place once this child learns how to behave in a realistic and civilized fashion.
Every adult knows Trump lies every time he opens his mouth. Every adult knows Iran posed zero imminent nuclear threat to anyone. Every adult knows the bullies in the Middle East is the US and Israel land grabbing and committing genocide for made up horse shit.And every adult knows Donald J Trump is a draft dodging, sex offender, convicted felon, insurrectionist, Putin Pal, lying grifter. Only the mentally feeble and immature children believe anything different.
YOU WERE LIED TO BY TRUMP AND AMERICANS ARE DYING BECAUSE OF HIM you brain dead cheerleader! Even NATO knows this and they’re an ocean away from the madness and criminality that is MAGA!
Trump says a former president had an Iran confession. Aides to his predecessors deny recent contact
https://apnews.com/article/trump-iran-war-former-president-confession-37d8ffa692903d41c47a85245244d971
And you buy lie after lie then cheerlead for the liabetic felon. So, I guess that makes you the shrieking child in the room! We have a convicted felon draft dodging insurrectionist POTUS who lies to the entire world multiple times a day and you continue to buy what the grifter keeps on selling you for his personal benefit vs. the benefit of the country and free world like normal non criminal non GOP Presidents have attempted to do rather than getting Americans killed then lying about and profiting off of their deaths.
“Numerous countries are on their way to help” he sold you yesterday. Today he’s having a temper tantrum because his lie has been exposed. Nobody is coming to help us fight and die in our manufactured war to divert attention from the Trump administration Epstein lies and coverup.
Rusher let NSA traitor Snowden and sex offender Steven Segal move there so the door must be open to you as well? And you won’t have to even have to change allegiance as you are already supporting Putin on a daily basis by supporting Trumps lies and crimes with lies.
“But the world will be a far more stable and productive place once this child learns how to behave in a realistic and civilized fashion”
Glad you see how a post Trump post MAGA world can be mate. Trump is the biggest child criminal to ever enter into American politics. He your Boris Johnson temper tantrum cry baby! We got rid of our man child you should do the same.
Adults know when they’ve been lied to my child.
As much as I enjoy a good condescending tone – I’ve followed the antics of this crazy theocracy since it’s inception almost fifty years ago, without relying on the propaganda of the tv bobbleheads (who actually make a living lying). So, as an independent trained observer, I sincerely do appreciate the astute observation Tommy has made of a complicated situation.
Wow you must be an Intelligence Agent or you just think you are?
End the War, Destroy Kharg Island. Kill everyone and everything. It’s a military base. This will end the war. Let the Chinese rebuild it. They are more reasonable than the Iranians. We see what the Chinese have done in Africa. I am sure the Trump distractors will approve of a great and diverse nation like China running Iranian oil. Free Speech, Free Religion, no borders, 18 categories of sexual identification. I love China and so do true Democrats. Why Hunter Biden received diamonds and millions of dollars from the Chinese for sharing his knowledge about the side effects of crack cocaine. WHAT A COUNTRY!
Man are you desperate and delusional or what? Remember your words when your world crumbles before your very eyes. You are what’s wrong with the world. You believe fascist bullshit and lies over facts and truths. You defend an absolute bonkers criminal over sanity and Democracy. You my friend defend the indefensible because you’re weak minded and feeble and have fallen prey to Putin’s propaganda machine.
Joseph Moron-
Do you know how to present evidence of your Orange Criminals so called accomplishments? No you do not because it does not exist in reality and it would be easily debunked like all of his lies have been. So you just name call to name call and defend the criminal YOU elected without any proof of anything. You’re as hollow as a PVC tube and as smart as one too. The only crime committed by a Democrat POTUS was lying about a blowjob. Your team has the following criminal record-
Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos
The CIA flooding the US with heroin from SE Asia
Watergate
Iran Contra
Desert Storm
OEIF
Afghanistan
Millions of Americans DEAD from COVID out of sheer ignorance with help from the most ignorant man alive your King
DHS murdering Americans in cold blood for exercising their Constitutional rights
The Epstein Coverup
And now the illegal unauthorized War on Iran
You ass clowns supporting that kind of criminality at the highest levels of our government are the ones helping Chyyyna and Rusher destroy us. All they need do is have their Orange Manchurian Candidate and propaganda networks (FOX, News Max, RT) tell you lies that you believe without a single question and they win! They win every time you believe the lies. And they don’t even have to fire a shot in anger. You fools will welcome them with open arms and in return they will either put a bullet in your stupid head or use you for slave labor until you drop dead.
So now tell us all- How many Americans killed and wounded for an oil field on an island are ok for you and your criminal POTUS ? How many dead and wounded Americans are ok for an illegal war with no end game and zero strategy other than to level their population centers like they criminally did to GAZA which lies in rubble and will remain so until they put the survivors in open air prisons and Israeli settlers build on THEIR land.
“I’ve followed the antics of this crazy theocracy since its inception almost fifty years ago, without relying on the propaganda of the tv bobbleheads (who actually make a living lying). So, as an independent trained observer“
“independent “trained” observer”- huh? Please elaborate on your training or at least where you were allegedly trained in Foreign Affairs, Intelligence and Analytics, Counter Insurgency/Terrorism.
I’ll gladly post my Bona Fides after you. Just to let you know in advance, I have over 15 years hands on work experience in those fields and many more. So your remarks about others on here being propagandist and bobble heads falls flat on its face. Especially if you are a MAGA/Trump supporter whose sole purpose in life is to protect their lying criminal propagandist bobblehead in the WH no matter what crimes he commits and there are many. The DNI herself danced around and hemmed and hawed when asked about the urgency to strike Iran based upon Trumps “feeling” that it was time to strike Iran because of a non existent imminent Nuclear threat that she herself posted “there is NO imminent Nuclear threat from Iran since operation “Midnight Hammer” obliterated there nuclear enrichment sites and that they have been sealed shut with several tons of concrete by the IRGC to prevent leaks.”
Nobody is condescending anyone here unless they outright lie, gaslight or spew unfounded propaganda as fact. It’s called adult dialogue. And it was you btw who began calling people children if they didn’t agree with your bullshit.
Tommy made a great analytical overview of one point of view regarding the takeover of Kharg Island. But Tommy lacks on the ground experience in combating the IRGC and their proxy forces around the region. They’re not the incapable untrained stooges our current government would have you believe. They’re have been actively fighting US and other Western countries colonialism of their lands just as most Americans would do if China were to set up bases in Mexico or Canada. But we insist that it is our right to be there and our right to have unfettered access to their oil. Again, I’d absolutely love to see what you our any other Trump cheerleader would say if China not only had bases in Canada or Mexico but also insisted they had rights to our oil.
If you do not know and respect your enemies you are doomed to fail! Trump and his lackeys failed on day one when they eliminated the JCPOA. Which was agreed upon by numerous parties. The monies given the Iranian government were not US monies. They were Iranian monies seized by the US from an 1979 failed arms deal (does the GOP/Ronny Raygun illegal IRAN CONTRA ring a bell?)and released back to them as compensation for agreeing to their terms of the JCPOA. But to hear Trump say it, “the US gave them mountains of green cash”, inferring that we paid them out of pocket which we absolutely did not!
-The nuclear deal that the United States made with Iran, which President Donald Trump eliminated, was the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal.
Baker Institute
Finalized in July 2015 under the Obama administration, the JCPOA was a multinational agreement designed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons in exchange for lifting strict economic sanctions.
Council on Foreign Relations
Key Details of the 2015 JCPOA Deal
Signatories: The P5+1—the five permanent UN Security Council members (USA, China, France, Russia, United Kingdom) plus Germany—and the European Union.
Iran’s Obligations: Iran agreed to limit its uranium enrichment, reduce its stockpile of enriched uranium by 98%, and dismantle many of its centrifuges (the machines used to enrich uranium) for at least 10–15 years.
Inspections: Iran agreed to “extraordinary” monitoring and verification by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Sanctions Relief: In return, the U.S., EU, and UN lifted nuclear-related economic sanctions, allowing Iran to regain access to roughly $100 billion in frozen assets and resume oil exports.
whitehouse.gov
Why Trump Eliminated the Deal
President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the JCPOA on May 8, 2018, calling it a “disaster,” “horrible,” and “the worst deal ever”. His main arguments for leaving included:
Wikipedia
Sunset Provisions: Critics argued the deal was not permanent and that restrictions would expire after 10–15 years.
Missiles & Regional Activity: The deal did not address Iran’s ballistic missile program or its support for regional proxies in Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon.
Nuclear Archive: Following the deal’s inception, intelligence presented by Israel in 2018 suggested Iran had maintained a secret, long-term archive of its nuclear weapons research, which the U.S. argued meant the deal was based on bad faith.
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Consequences of the Withdrawal
Maximum Pressure Campaign: After withdrawing, the Trump administration re-imposed heavy, crippling sanctions on Iran’s banking, energy, and shipping sectors.
Iran’s Response: A year later, Iran began violating the constraints of the deal, increasing its uranium enrichment levels and accelerating its research.
Status: While the remaining parties (UK, France, Germany, China, Russia) tried to keep the deal alive, the U.S. withdrawal effectively stalled its function as originally designed.
Council on Foreign Relations
-The $1.7 billion sent by the U.S. government to Iran in January 2016 was not a payment for agreeing to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear terms, but rather a settlement of a decades-old financial dispute arising from a failed arms deal before the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
Stanford Law School
Whose money was it?
$400 Million (Principal): This was Iran’s money. It was the balance of a trust fund Iran had placed with the U.S. government to purchase military equipment before the 1979 revolution.
$1.3 Billion (Interest): This was taxpayer money. It was paid from the U.S. Judgment Fund, a permanent, indefinite appropriation available to pay final judgments or settlements against the United States.
PBS
Where did it come from?
The $400 million was held in a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) trust fund.
The $1.3 billion was paid from the U.S. Treasury’s Judgment Fund.
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
How was it delivered?
Due to strict international sanctions that cut Iran off from the international banking system, the money was converted into foreign currency (Swiss francs and euros) and flown to Tehran in cash via an unmarked cargo plane to ensure the transfer was successful.
Brookings
The Context
The U.S. and Iran were in the middle of a legal arbitration case at The Hague Tribunal regarding the interest on the trust fund, and U.S. officials believed they were likely to lose the case, potentially owing much more. The settlement was finalized at the same time as the JCPOA implementation, and the release of American prisoners in 2016.
So put on your big boy pants and tell us about your “independent trained observer” background and provide some facts as to how this war is in any way shape or form legal and how it is that (as King Minus has stated) we’ve already won what has only just begun to play out. But most importantly please do tell us all how a single American casualty (KIA or WIA)is worthwhile to anyone but Draft Dodger Trump, who started this war based upon complete lies and fabrications. Just as Bush Sr and his Dummy Sonny did when they lied and fabricated evidence to get vengeance upon Bush Sr.’s former CIA arms deals gone wrong with Saddam and the IRGC during the Iran Iraq War which led to thousands of US servicemen and women being wounded and killed in Multi National Force peacekeeping operations in Lebanon, Operation Provide Comfort, Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert Storm, OEIF etc.
And lastly, why are millions of civilians being killed by our wars in the Middle East ok but an act of revenge that kills Americans for those crimes not?
“an independent trained observer“
Trained in what exactly? Surely not war or you’d know the cost in American lives is not worth the oil and natural gas on that island. Unless of course you don’t value the lives of those in uniform and all you do care about is self enrichment off of other peoples property.
“The $400 million was held in a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) trust fund.
The $1.3 billion was paid from the U.S”
Mr JB
wow mate $1.3billion is what taxpayers are paying per day on their illegal war. Seems like that was a small price to pay in comparison especially when the illegal war has cost the US 14 deaths and over 150 wounded. Pay no mind to the peanut gallery, they’re just brainwashed drones who repeat what they’re told. Plus you can tell the truth gets them by the short n curly’s as they sling crap to defend shite! It’s actually quite funny seeing them so desperate just like the rats they are on a rapidly sinking ship of fools.
Hello? “Independent Trained Observer”? Where’d you go? Can’t answer a few simple questions I see. Typical sycophant with no answers only baseless lies and a daily ingestion of MAGA propaganda you spread like the brainless scarecrow of OZ their Cowardly King who hides behind his curtain of brainless sycophants.
Boy that Netanyahoo is one major arse kisser playing ignorant egoistic Trump like a fiddle. Although the unlawful war upon Iran is solely so Israel can expand its borders illegally into other neighboring countries (because they’re running out of settlement land available in Israel) and so the US and Israel can seize oil and natural gas that does not belong to either of them. BB falsely worships Trump to get what he wants from him in the tune of billions upon billions of dollars worth of US weapons and ammunition the US is hardly able to maintain stocks of for themselves because of Trump’s illegal wars upon Venezuela, Iran and Yemen and the paltry assistance provide to Ukraine (Trump’s and his bestie’s enemy).
The days of America being the leader of the free world are over. Thanks to Trump we are a pariah state led by a fascist movement of haters rather than leaders of the freedom and democracy we were once idolized for being. Hope you’re proud of yourself for that fact?
Bloodthirsty MAGA Sen Squeals for More War With Violent Plot
https://www.thedailybeast.com/bloodthirsty-maga-sen-lindsay-graham-squeals-for-more-war-with-violent-plot/
This is Bigly talk coming from an Air Force JAG Officer who has never been involved in a firefight anywhere at anytime but somehow has a Bronze Star for Gallantry! Ron DeSantis was a Naval JAG Officer who also has a Bronze Star for Gallantry for fighting legal battles rather than seeing combat like most recipients of those awards have had to. Of course they fit in with MAGA which is led by a 8 deferment draft dodging, convicted felon, insurrectionist and Putin Pal who bought himself a Purple Heart medal and thinks he deserves an MoH for having done nothing more than meeting troops in a rear area base in Iraq that was more heavily guarded than the truth within the Epstein files.
Graham pulled some serious BS to get himself involved in Iraq by flying over as a Congressional Rep. and somehow without orders ended up staying and practicing law which is when he gallantly somehow earned a Bronze Star. DeSantis provided legal counsel to SEAL leadership (not as a war fighter, as a lawyer in a rear area operations center.
We are being led by cowards who think war is macho and cool despite never ever having actually been in one.