President Donald Trump’s naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has squeezed Iran’s oil revenue hard, and Sen. Lindsey Graham wants him to tighten the grip even more by targeting energy facilities on Kharg Island.
Graham laid out the plan clearly when he appeared on Fox News with Sean Hannity on Thursday, April 16.
He told viewers that if Iran rejects U.S. demands, the administration should keep the blockade in place and strike the island’s oil infrastructure.
Graham emphasized that he was not calling for a full invasion of Iran or troops marching on Tehran. Instead, he pushed for economic pressure focused on the single point that sends out most of Iran’s crude.
“Keep the blockade in place but be willing to go after the energy infrastructure on Kharg Island,” Graham said. “I’m not asking President Trump or anybody to invade the country.”
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Kharg Island sits in the Persian Gulf, about 25 kilometers off Iran’s southern coast. It is a small coral strip, roughly twice the size of London’s Heathrow Airport, but it handles around 90 percent of Iran’s crude oil exports.
Pipelines from mainland fields and offshore platforms feed into terminals on the island. Supertankers load there before heading through the Strait of Hormuz.
The facilities can handle up to 7 million barrels per day at full capacity. Without Kharg, Iran’s ability to sell oil collapses.
The island has been Iran’s main export hub for decades, with oil revenue funds a big chunk of the government’s budget and its military programs.
Graham’s take.
Graham has said repeatedly that 90 percent or more of Iran’s income comes from oil and gas, and nearly all of that flows through this one location.
According to him, controlling or disabling the infrastructure there would cut off the money Tehran needs to keep operating.
Trump’s blockade started after peace talks in Pakistan broke down without a deal. Iran had tried to shut down traffic in the Strait of Hormuz earlier in the conflict, attacking ships and declaring the waterway closed.
Trump responded by ordering the U.S. Navy to block Iranian vessels while allowing others through under certain conditions.
The move flipped the pressure back on Tehran after Iranian oil exports, already limited by years of sanctions, took another hit.
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Recent reports show Tehran earned some revenue in the early weeks of the war by moving limited cargoes, but the U.S. action has made that far harder.
Graham first floated stronger action on Kharg weeks ago. He urged Trump to seize the island outright, comparing it to the Marine assault on Iwo Jima in World War II.
“We did Iwo Jima, we can do this,” he said on another Fox appearance.
He argued that taking the island would let the Iranian regime “die on the vine” without a wider ground war.
Other voices in Washington have discussed bombing the facilities rather than occupying them.
Trump himself ordered airstrikes on military targets on Kharg earlier, leaving the oil terminals untouched at the time. Graham praised those strikes as bold and effective.
Graham’s consistent advice to Trump.
The senator has stayed consistent in telling Trump there is no need to invade Iran if at all the main goal is to destroy Iran’s capacity to build nuclear weapons, develop long-range missiles, and support proxy groups across the region. He says hitting Kharg fits that plan.
Graham said that once the regime falls or agrees to U.S. conditions, including giving up enriched uranium and ending nuclear work, the region could stabilize and even create economic opportunities.
He has also said the U.S. and its partners will make money from secure shipping lanes once the threat disappears.
The White House has not confirmed any immediate plans to strike the oil terminals, especially after Trump shelved his earlier threats.
