US officials are privately weighing a plan to seize Kharg Island to choke Iran's oil exports, but military planners warn a seizure would demand thousands of boots on the ground plus heavy naval and air cover and precise intelligence on island defenses.Michael Rubin and retired Marine general Carl Mundy tell reporters the island handles roughly 90 percent of Iran's export capacity and that an occupation would pose major logistical, intelligence and resistance challenges that could reshape global oil flows.President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth say Operation Epic Fury will intensify and US Central Command reports it has destroyed 16 Iranian mine vessels while commanders say more than 5,000 targets have been struck.A preliminary US assessment and multiple media reports say a strike on the
Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' school killed over 165 children and the
Pentagon is investigating as
Brent crude briefly surged and markets and insurers raised war risk costs while planners consider escorting tankers through the
Strait of Hormuz.