Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, struck in U.S. attacks during the conflict with Iran, is at the heart of Tehran’s oil industry and is one of the conflict’s most sensitive economic targets. The terminal handles more than 90% of Iran’s crude exports, yet until now the infrastructure had remained intact. Tehran has said that the raids on the night of March 13-14 (Italian time) did not target the facilities. Analysts had warned that an attack on Kharg could trigger another spike in oil prices and further destabilize global energy markets.
Strategic value
Located about 55 kilometres from the port of Bushehr and surrounded by deep waters, Kharg covers only eight kilometres but hosts Iran’s main crude export platform. Subsea pipelines and loading terminals move oil from central and western fields onto tankers destined mainly for Asian markets, with China among the largest buyers. Normally between 1.3 and 1.6 million barrels per day pass through the terminal, and its storage capacity amounts to tens of millions of barrels.
The island’s strategic importance helps explain why it has not been hit so far. Neil Quilliam, an analyst at Chatham House, warned that an attack could push oil prices up to $150 per barrel. Destroying or disabling the terminal would remove Iran’s entire export flow from the market, while some regional production is already constrained by bottlenecks in the Strait of Hormuz.
A possible military occupation would also be highly complex: it would require a large deployment of forces and could create an energy stalemate, with Iran continuing to produce but unable to export, and the United States controlling the terminal without being able to operate it.
Symbolic value
Beyond its economic role, Kharg carries strong symbolic significance. Inhabited since ancient times and contested by regional and European powers, it became an oil hub in the 1960s and was bombed during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s. Its deep waters still allow supertankers to carry the principal economic support of the Islamic Republic.
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