\nLarak Island is located at the narrowest point of the Strait of Hormuz.<\/a> Like Kharg, Larak is a critical facility for Iran\u2019s oil industry. The island also has a number of bunkers from which it can monitor the Strait of Hormuz and cargo ships.<\/p>\n
According to The Times of Israel, Larak also contains several Iranian bases and radars that track ships crossing Hormuz. It also has smaller boats that can be used to attack civilian vessels.<\/p>\n
The island is said to be heavily fortified, which is why taking it would be no small feat.<\/p>\n
Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb<\/p>\n
Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb are small islands in the eastern Persian Gulf.<\/a> Located at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, their strategic position allows control over ships leaving the Gulf.<\/p>\n Abu Musa holds significant oil and gas resources in its territorial waters. A tourist attraction, it is also known for its beaches \u2014 including Al Shamal Beach and Al Ghallah Beach \u2014 clear waters and rich marine life.<\/p>\n Iran has controlled these islands since 1971, when it ordered the invasion of the then Emirate of Sharjah, now part of the UAE. Iran had initially taken control in 1904 but withdrew under British pressure.<\/p>\n Tehran moved again after failing to annex Bahrain. Iran argues the islands were historically Persian territories before British involvement in the 20th century. This followed Britain\u2019s withdrawal from the Persian Gulf in November 1971. Iran and Sharjah agreed to jointly administer Abu Musa and share oil revenues.<\/p>\n While Iran insists it has an inalienable right to the islands<\/a> and has refused negotiations over sovereignty, the UAE continues to push for a diplomatic resolution. Axios quoted sources as saying the Pentagon has suggested taking control of Abu Musa.<\/p>\n STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS ADQeshm<\/p>\n Formed in the shape of an arrow, the 558-square-mile Qeshm Island is another potential target.<\/p>\n Qeshm\u2019s natural beauty once made it a tourist paradise. However, the island is now home to anti-ship missiles, mines, drones and other attack craft housed in underground tunnels.<\/p>\n The island dominates the area around Hormuz, sometimes described<\/a> as \u201ca cork in the world\u2019s most vital energy transit passage\u201d, according to Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n Iran claimed in the early days of the war that the US had attacked a desalination plant on Qeshm, disrupting water supplies to local villages. The US denied the allegation.<\/p>\n Tehran has warned Washington against attempting to seize any of these islands.<\/p>\n \u201cIran\u2019s enemies, with the support of a country in the region, are preparing an operation to occupy one of Iran\u2019s islands,\u201d Iran\u2019s Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned earlier this week. Though he did not name any country, he was likely referring to the UAE.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they take any action, all the vital infrastructure of that regional country will be targeted without limitation by relentless attacks,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS ADWhat is Trump doing?<\/p>\n The Pentagon is reportedly preparing what officials have described as a possible<\/a> \u201cfinal strike\u201d phase of operations, aimed at crippling Iran\u2019s ability to export oil and project power in the Gulf.<\/p>\n At the centre of this build-up are rapid-reaction expeditionary forces and naval strike assets include the 82nd Airborne Division.: Around 2,000\u20133,000 elite US Army paratroopers have been deployed or are being readied. These troops are trained to parachute into hostile territory and quickly seize airfields or strategic points \u2014 making them central to any plan to capture islands like Kharg.<\/p>\n Thousands of Marines \u2014 including units like the 31st MEU and 11th MEU \u2014 are being moved into the region aboard amphibious assault ships. These forces specialise in amphibious landings, island seizures and securing coastal territory.<\/p>\n Total troop surge: The US has already deployed roughly 7,000 additional troops, with plans under consideration to send up to 10,000 more \u2014 including infantry and armoured units \u2014 to expand operational options.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s options<\/p>\n The Pentagon has proposed several options for Trump:<\/p>\n Seizing or blockading Kharg Island<\/p>\n Taking Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz, which hosts Iranian bases and radar systems<\/p>\n Invading Abu Musa Island \u2014 along with the Greater and Lesser Tunbs \u2014 giving control over Gulf shipping lanes<\/p>\n Intercepting or taking control of ships exporting Iranian oil<\/p>\n According to Axios, there are also plans under consideration for US troops to seize Iran\u2019s highly enriched uranium, believed to be stored beneath damaged nuclear facilities deep inside the country.<\/p>\n Alternatively, the US could bomb these sites from the air to ensure Iran cannot access the material. Trump has not yet decided on any of the options, sources say.<\/p>\n STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS ADFAQs<\/p>\n 1) Why are these Iranian islands so important? 2) Why is the 82nd Airborne being deployed? 3) What role do US ships play in this plan? With inputs from agencies<\/p>\n Home<\/a>Explainers<\/a>Not Kharg alone: Could Iranian islands, Larak and Abu Musa, be next US targets?End of Article<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the Iran war has progressed, much attention has been focused on Kharg Island. The island, which is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38574,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[248,1259,250,229,257,244,251,218,16872,241,58,255,223,9471,233,254,228,243,247,222,239,6227,16871,231,37,215,10729,240,184,6225,245,238,237,15452,8931,42,219,15451,1316,39,15453,5868,235,224,9533,182,10730,80,252,221,230],"class_list":{"0":"post-38573","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-persian-gulf","8":"tag-america-iran-war","9":"tag-india-news","10":"tag-iran-america-war","11":"tag-iran-and-israel-war","12":"tag-iran-and-us-war","13":"tag-iran-israel-news","14":"tag-iran-israel-us-war","15":"tag-iran-israel-war","16":"tag-iran-israel-war-lockdown","17":"tag-iran-israel-war-news","18":"tag-iran-news","19":"tag-iran-us-israel-war","20":"tag-iran-us-war","21":"tag-iran-us-war-latest-news","22":"tag-iran-us-war-news","23":"tag-iran-usa-war","24":"tag-iran-war-latest","25":"tag-iran-war-latest-news","26":"tag-iran-war-live","27":"tag-iran-war-news","28":"tag-iran-war-news-latest","29":"tag-iran-war-news-today","30":"tag-iran-war-today","31":"tag-iran-war-update","32":"tag-israel","33":"tag-israel-iran-war","34":"tag-israel-iran-war-latest-news","35":"tag-israel-iran-war-news","36":"tag-israel-news","37":"tag-israel-war-iran","38":"tag-latest-iran-war-news","39":"tag-latest-news","40":"tag-latest-news-iran-war","41":"tag-latest-on-iran-war","42":"tag-lockdown","43":"tag-news","44":"tag-news-iran-war","45":"tag-news-on-iran-war","46":"tag-news-today","47":"tag-persian-gulf","48":"tag-us-and-iran-war","49":"tag-us-iran-israel-war","50":"tag-us-iran-news","51":"tag-us-iran-war","52":"tag-us-iran-war-latest-news","53":"tag-us-iran-war-news","54":"tag-us-iran-war-news-latest","55":"tag-us-israel-iran-war","56":"tag-usa-iran-war","57":"tag-war-news","58":"tag-war-update"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38573\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Cargo ships sail in the Arabian Gulf towards Strait of Hormuz in United Arab Emirates. AP<\/p>\n
U.S. President Donald Trump, sitting next to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 26, 2026.- Reuters<\/p>\n
These islands sit along or near the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world\u2019s most critical oil transit chokepoints. Roughly a fifth of global oil supply passes through this route, making control over these islands strategically vital.<\/p>\n
The 82nd Airborne is designed for rapid deployment into hostile zones. It can seize airfields or key infrastructure within hours, making it ideal for operations like capturing islands such as Kharg.<\/p>\n
US warships and amphibious assault vessels carry troops, aircraft and missiles. They allow the US to launch attacks, land Marines and control sea lanes \u2014 all critical for any operation in the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n