If the Americans and their allies intend to forcefully open them to restore the flow of oil from the Gulf to the rest of the world they will have to defeat the Iranian forces in, guarding the strategically important strait.
Iran’s unsinkable “aircraft carrier”.
Slightly larger in area than Rhodes and twice the size of Bahrain, Qeshm, with its 150,000 inhabitants, is only 60 km from the coast of Oman. It is one of the most important wetlands in the region but also its unsinkable “aircraft carrier” as it hides military installations for the elite forces of the Revolutionary Guards.
Iranian blockade on navigation
From the shores and caves of Qeshm, the Iranian military is able to control navigation in the Straits of Hormuz by targeting merchant and warships. With missiles, drones, and even simple guns, the Iranians can deliver deadly blows to ships, as well as lay mines, blocking shipping for months.
Early in the war, two weeks ago, the Americans bombed a desalination plant in Qeshm, possibly other facilities, prompting immediate retaliation from the Iranians across the straits. Keshm Island is inside the zone where the Americans bombed with large cluster bombs in the last 24 hours
Declining American business?
Now all possibilities are open, even that of an American amphibious operation to capture the island, which is located next to the equally strategically important Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.
Since Iran’s air defenses have been completely destroyed as the Pentagon says, the above-ground military installations are an easy target for the US air force. But a landing operation will not be an easy task. The Iranians are probably harboring surprises about the amphibious force (2,500 Marines) expected to sail into the wider region in a week, especially when the aircraft carrier Gerald Ford has been forced out of the Red Sea, reducing overall US firepower.
The population of the island is Sunni
In the event of an American landing operation, the attitude of the island’s population, which is predominantly Sunni, will be important. According to Iranian opposition figures, there was also an anti-government demonstration in Qeshm on December 29 with slogans against Ayatollah Khamenei.
For Iran, the island enjoyed special benefits as a tourist destination and as a free trade zone.
Threat of destruction
Even if there is no landing operation, the island is threatened with destruction since the American president Donald Trump decides that the only way to open the Straits of Hormuz is to level all the areas from where the Iranians could threaten passing ships.
