The Island at the Heart of Iran’s War Machine

In the northern Persian Gulf, just 16 miles off Iran’s coast, sits Kharg Island, and its fate in the coming weeks could play a crucial role in the U.S.-Israel war with Iran.

Middle East states and colonial powers have battled over this strategic strip of land for millennia. The Dutch, British, Arabs, and Persians coveted Kharg Island, which is about half the size of Manhattan, because of its importance as a choke point in one of the world’s most important waterways. Since seizing power in 1979, Tehran’s theocracy has made Kharg the centerpiece of its energy industry, and export terminals there ship 80 to 90 percent of Iran’s total crude-oil sales.