"Orphan Pearl" On Fire: The Critical Oil Island Struck By US In Iran

Spread over a meagre 20 square kilometres, Iran's Kharg island processes 90 per cent of the country's total oil exports, driving the region to the edge as the US attacked it on Friday, 15 days into the Middle East conflict.

Tiny Geography, Major Role

Situated around the northern most part of the Persian Gulf and 28 kilometres off the mainland Bushehr province, the rocky limestone island with a population of gazelles measures around eight kilometres in length and five kilometres in width. Though Trump called Kharg island Iran's "crown jewel", it was dubbed many years ago as the "orphan pearl of the Persian Gulf" by celebrated Iranian writer Jalal Al-e-Ahmad.

The island's facilities, including storage tanks, loading terminals and pipelines, act as the vital nerve centre for the sector. The terminal receives crude from three major offshore fields - Aboozar, Forouzan, and Dorood - which is then transported via a complex network of subsea pipelines to onshore processing facilities before being stored or shipped to global markets.

Pipelines from Iran's largest oil fields including Ahvaz, Marun and Gachsaran feed directly into Kharg's storage tanks. The facilities handle around 95 crore barrels of crude oil every year. Petras Katinas, an energy researcher at the Royal United Services Institute, said Kharg Island was critical to funding Iran's government and military. If Iran were to lose control of Kharg, it would be difficult for the country to function, he told The Associated Press.

Photo Credit: NASA

Kharg underwent key developments during Iran's oil expansion in the 1960s and 1970s, with much of the country's coast too shallow for supertankers.

Beyond its significance owing to oil, the island is home to the highly-revered 7th century Mir Mohammad Shrine, the Mir Aram Shrine featuring inscriptions and torches from the Achaemenid period, Zoroastrian burial sites, Christian graves, Sassanid-era tombs, Islamic cemeteries, and the remains of an 1747 Dutch fort and garden, per Al Jazeera.

Qeshm Island, and the tiny islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunb are other Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf that carry outsized importance because of their oil facilities and strategic location.

Advances Into Region

Earlier, the United States and Israel treaded carefully around Kharg Island until now, later adding that capturing the island was potentially on the table. The Wall Street Journal and New York Times reported on Friday that the Pentagon had dispatched the Japan-based amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli to the region along with its complement of some 2,500 Marines.

Why Was Kharg Hit?

US President Donald Trump said the US military had heavily bombed targets on the island, also threatening to hit the island's oil infrastructure. Stating that every military target was obliterated, Trump wrote on social media, "I have chosen NOT to wipe out the Oil Infrastructure on the Island. However, should Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider."

Trump and several US leaders have delivered strong statements as Iran continues to all but halt operations in the critical Strait of Hormuz, which sees the passage of 20 per cent of all of the world's oil. This has hit the world economy, sending oil prices skyrocketing to $100 a barrel. Iran -- the fourth-biggest crude producer within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) -- vowed not one litre of oil would be exported from the Gulf while the war continues.

The strike though is unlikely to evoke no response from Iran, with a bulk of Tehran's crude exports facing an immediate halt. It is likely to trigger "severe retaliation in the Strait of Hormuz or against regional energy infrastructure", JP Morgan warned.

Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf had earlier said Iran "will abandon all restraint" if the islands come under attack and said Trump will be responsible for "the blood of American soldiers."