Iran fortifies Kharg Island against feared US seizure — USS Tripoli and 82nd Airborne deployed toward Gulf

Iran is laying traps, moving military personnel and boosting air defenses on Kharg Island amid fears of a US operation to seize the territory, CNN reported on 26 March 2026, citing sources familiar with US intelligence reporting. Kharg Island handles approximately 90% of Iran's crude oil exports and is located in the Persian Gulf off the Iranian coast. Iranian forces have reinforced the island with additional shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile systems (MANPADS), and US officials and military experts have warned of significant casualty risks given the layered defenses. US President Trump is reportedly weighing the operation as leverage to coerce Iran into reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The US has deployed 1,000 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division and 5,000 Marines toward the Gulf; the Marines are traveling on USS Tripoli, an assault ship capable of amphibious operations that could play a key role in an attack on Kharg, per NBC. Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf warned the previous day that Iran was preparing for such an assault, saying 'based on some intelligence reports, Iran's enemies are preparing to occupy one of the Iranian islands with support from one of the regional states,' and that 'if they take any step, all the vital infrastructure of that regional state will be targeted with relentless, unceasing attacks.' Trump has not publicly ruled out the option and told The Guardian in a 1988 interview that he would 'do a number on Kharg Island' if Iran attacked US forces. A US seizure of Kharg would represent a major escalation of the conflict and would likely trigger an Iranian response against Gulf states.