Trump Considers Using U.S. Ground Troops to Seize Iran's Kharg Island to Secure Strait of Hormuz

Donald Trump is weighing deploying U.S. ground forces to seize Iran's Kharg Island if disruptions to oil tanker traffic in the Persian Gulf continue, Axios reports. The move is part of a broader plan to form a multinational coalition to reopen the Strait of Hormuz later this week, which the White House has labeled the "Hormuz Alliance". Kharg Island, located about 15 miles off Iran's coast and handling roughly 90% of Iran's crude exports, was targeted Friday when Trump ordered strikes on military facilities but left its oil infrastructure intact. U.S. officials said seizing the island could hurt Iran's economy while risking Iranian retaliation on Gulf oil facilities, and no country has yet publicly joined the plan, though senior officials expect support to be announced this week.