U.S. Media Analysis: The Risks of the U.S. Military's Desire to Seize These Iranian Islands

Reference News Network reported on April 1 that CNN's website published an article titled "The Seven Islands Controlling the Lifeline of the Strait of Hormuz" on March 28, authored by Brad Lendon. The main content of the article is summarized as follows:

According to reports, thousands of U.S. ground troops are heading to the Middle East, leading to increasing speculation that they may be sent to seize Iran's Khark Island. This island is a key energy hub in the northern Persian Gulf.

However, Khark Island is just one of dozens of islands Iran has in the Persian Gulf, and other islands may be more critical for ensuring the safe passage of merchant ships and warships through the Strait of Hormuz.

Among them, Abu Musa Island, Greater Tunb Island, Lesser Tunb Island, Hengam Island, Qeshm Island, Larak Island, and Hormuz Island are referred to by researchers as Iran's "arch-shaped defense system."

Iranian officials refer to these islands and other islands in the Persian Gulf as Tehran's "unsinkable fixed aircraft carriers."

If U.S. forces attempt to land on Khark Island, they must first eliminate Iranian military positions on these islands to ensure the safe passage of U.S. warships into the heart of the Persian Gulf.

Carl Schuster, an analyst based in Hawaii and former director of the Joint Intelligence Center of the U.S. Pacific Command, stated that these islands have a "strategically advantageous location."

There are two ways for U.S. forces to land on these islands: air delivery or amphibious landing. U.S. Navy vessels are equipped with landing craft, including air-cushion landing craft that can directly storm the beach to deliver troops and equipment. However, delivering these landing craft into the Persian Gulf may face challenges, as their mother ships must first break through the initial islands of Iran's arch-shaped defense system and the defenses on the Iranian mainland.

U.S. Navy vessels are also equipped with CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, which can perform vertical takeoff and landing missions alongside helicopters. However, these aircraft are slower and vulnerable to attacks from air defense systems that were not destroyed in previous airstrikes. Soldiers can also parachute from high-altitude aircraft onto the islands, but compared to sea delivery, such assault operations can carry less equipment.

Occupying the islands is only part of the mission. Schuster stated that an occupying force of about 1,800 to 2,000 personnel would be needed to ensure that these islands would not be used by Iran again. This could put U.S. forces stationed on the islands in danger. A new report from the nonpartisan think tank Soufan Center in New York pointed out: "This could embroil the U.S. in a long-term, unpopular conflict on Iranian territory, accompanied by a rising number of U.S. military casualties."

Analysts say that the U.S. actions to seize Abu Musa Island, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb Island could also have other ripple effects.

In 1971, as the UAE gained independence from British colonial rule, the U.S.-backed Iranian Pahlavi dynasty controlled these three islands. Since then, the UAE has questioned the legality of Iran's actions at the United Nations and proposed resolving the dispute through negotiations. Schuster stated that this is precisely the tricky part of the U.S. occupying these islands, calling it a "political dilemma" for Washington and its ally, the UAE. (Translated by Xu Yanhong)