In the early hours of Saturday they hit the island of Harg. A small dot on the map, since the country’s oil export is largely based on it.
The first information indicates that the US carried out “surgical” strikes with Trump stressing that the oil plants were not hit. But why did he choose to hit the island now?
Where is Harg Island and what is its use
Harg Island has an area of about 20 square kilometers and is located in the Persian Gulf, 25 kilometers from the Iranian mainland. It is Iran’s largest oil export terminal — about 90% of the country’s oil passes through this hub.
Its long jetties give supertankers access to deep water, which mainland ports do not. Iran’s largest producing fields transport oil to Kharg Island via pipeline.
His varied past
The modern industrial aspect of the island hides a rich archaeological treasure. Evidence of human habitation dates back to the late second millennium BC. and cover the Elamite, Achaemenid and Sassanid eras.
Among the island’s most revered monuments is the Shrine of Mir Mohammad, built in the 7th century of the Islamic Hijri calendar (late 13th century) and featuring two conical domes made of stone and mud.
Nearby is the Sanctuary of Mir Aram, which houses a 12-meter (39 ft) high stone with Islamic inscriptions and two torches believed to date from the Achaemenid era. Locals associate this site with Mir Aram, a descendant of the Prophet Noah of the Quran and the Bible.
The island is a testimony of religious and cultural diversity. An ancient cemetery contains an admirable mosaic of religions, with Zoroastrian tombs, Christian tombs and tombs from the Sassanid era.
Other historical monuments scattered around the island include the ruins of the Dutch fort of 1747, the Dutch Garden, the Harg Orchard, an old railway line, Islamic cemeteries and an extremely important inscription from the Achaemenid era. This coral rock engraving, measuring 85 x 116 cm, is considered to be one of the earliest archaeological records to explicitly mention the “Persian Gulf”.
Kharg Island bears the heavy marks of its geopolitical importance, having suffered relentless and devastating bombing during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, before being rebuilt by the Iranian authorities.
The CIA report from 1984
US agencies had highlighted the importance of the island for many years. The reference to the CIA report in 1984 is typical.
“The Kharg Island oil facilities are the most vital to Iran’s oil system, and their continued operation is essential to Iran’s economic well-being and its ability to finance the war with Iraq. In recent months, Iraq has stepped up its threats to attack and destroy the Kharg Island oil facilities and has regularly attacked tankers trading crude oil from Kharg.
If Iraq succeeds in cutting off Kharg’s export operations, Iran’s remaining export capacity in the southern Persian Gulf would be only about a quarter of its current rate — a level low enough that Tehran would likely seriously seek to cut off oil exports from the Arab oil-producing Gulf states. Harg Island’s oil facilities are extensive. Its export capacity, approximately 9-10 million barrels per day, makes it the largest single oil export terminal in the Persian Gulf. Only about one-eighth of that capacity is used, which gives the terminal great flexibility in dealing with potential Iraqi attacks.
In addition, the unusual system of transporting oil by gravity to the island from onshore oil fields and from tanks to tankers reduces the risk of extended downtime. The island is also well defended, which helped neutralize the effectiveness of previous Iraqi bombing raids. “Knowing these characteristics of Harg Island and its major oil facilities helps to understand the impact of potential Iraqi attacks on this major oil facility.”
What the US hit on Harg Island
The Fars news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said more than 15 explosions were heard on the island during the US strikes.
The attacks targeted air defense systems, a naval base, the airport’s control tower and a helicopter hangar, according to a post by the agency on Telegram.
No damage was caused to oil infrastructure on Kharg Island, according to Iran’s state media.
