Iranian forces have begun laying mines and moving additional troops to Kharg Island after reports that the United States was increasing its ground presence in the Persian Gulf, Iranian and international sources said.
A CNN report, citing anonymous sources, said Iranian personnel were placing anti-personnel and anti-armor mines around Kharg, where U.S. forces might try an amphibious landing. Kharg Island is a strategic oil terminal handling roughly 90% of Iran’s crude exports.
Media reports also said officials in the Trump administration had at times considered using U.S. troops to seize the island to pressure Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, said Tehran had received intelligence suggesting that adversaries — with regional backing — were preparing to occupy “one of the Iranian islands.” He said Iranian forces were monitoring movements and warned that any such occupation would prompt sustained attacks on the vital infrastructure of the country involved.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the U.S. had not achieved key objectives in its campaign against Iran, including swift military victory and regime change.
Al Jazeera reported that the Pentagon ordered roughly 2,000 additional soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, deploying them from North Carolina. That order was said to be in addition to two Marine Expeditionary Units already en route: the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group from Japan and the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group from San Diego.
Combined, those reinforcements would add an estimated 6,000–7,000 marines and sailors to about 50,000 U.S. personnel already positioned in the region, Al Jazeera reported. The U.S. deployments are among the largest since the 2003 Iraq war, when about 160,000 U.S. soldiers were sent to the region.
This account is based on syndicated reports and coverage from international outlets cited above; the original publisher released the material as received and did not assume responsibility for independent verification of all details.
