The ongoing conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran continues, with Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz driving up oil prices and placing significant domestic pressure on U.S. President Donald Trump. According to American media reports, a U.S. Marine Corps expeditionary unit expected to arrive in the Middle East next week may attempt to seize strategically important Iranian islands near the strait. Such an operation could weaken Iran's ability to maintain the blockade and create conditions for reopening the vital shipping lane.
As oil prices climb, President Trump is reportedly urging aides and allies to find ways to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. Marine Corps may represent his strongest available option. The Pentagon has already dispatched the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit—a rapid-response force of around 2,200 Marines—to the region. Current and former U.S. officials suggest this unit could be used to capture one or more islands off Iran's southern coast, either to gain leverage or to establish a base for countering Iranian attacks on commercial vessels. The unit is traveling aboard the USS Tripoli amphibious assault ship and is expected to reach the Middle East in just over a week.
A Marine Expeditionary Unit is a self-sufficient force that operates from naval vessels as a mobile base. It consists of four elements: a ground combat element equipped with armored vehicles and artillery; an aviation element with MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, helicopters, and F-35B jet fighters; a command element to coordinate operations; and a logistics battalion providing support, supplies, and maintenance. The unit is specially trained for amphibious and aerial assault missions.
By targeting commercial ships, Iran has effectively blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, which carries about 20% of the world's oil supply. This has disrupted the global economy, driven up fuel prices in the U.S. and elsewhere, and created both military and political challenges for the Trump administration.
The U.S. military is attempting to reopen the strait by degrading Tehran’s ability to threaten the waterway, targeting launch sites, production facilities, and storage depots for Iranian missiles, drones, and mines. According to U.S. Central Command, American forces recently dropped a 5,000-pound deep-penetration bomb on a fortified site housing anti-ship cruise missiles along Iran’s coastline.
Despite nearly three weeks of U.S. and Israeli strikes, Iran continues to attack American forces and their allies across the Middle East.
According to former and current U.S. officials, deploying an additional Marine Expeditionary Unit gives President Trump more options to pressure Tehran.
Iran controls several small islands off its southern coast, which it uses for oil infrastructure, missile bases, and concealing vessels in caves. Among the most economically significant is Kharg Island, located near the northern end of the Persian Gulf about 300 miles from the Strait of Hormuz. It serves as Iran’s primary oil export hub. Last week, U.S. forces destroyed key military facilities on the island, and President Trump recently threatened to strike its oil pipelines.
Experts and former officials suggest that instead of destroying Kharg Island’s oil facilities, Marines could seize the island, giving the U.S. leverage to negotiate the strait’s reopening.
Such an assault could be conducted by sea, using landing craft from the USS Tripoli to deliver Marines and equipment directly to shore. Alternatively, an air-based assault could deploy Marines via F-35B fighters and helicopters capable of landing without runways. These aircraft could operate from naval vessels or, if regional partners grant overflight and basing rights, from nearby countries.
Marines might also be sent to capture other islands within the strait. From such positions, U.S. forces could intercept Iranian fast-attack craft and shoot down missiles threatening maritime traffic.
One potential target is Qeshm Island, a large, arrow-shaped landmass situated at the mouth of the strait. It hosts Iranian naval vessels and missiles in underground tunnels, as well as a major desalination plant that Iran has accused the U.S. of targeting. The island’s size and location allow Iran to control vessel traffic through the strait.
Other possible targets include Kish Island, a small economic hub west of Qeshm with its own airport, or the rocky Hormuz Island to the east, where Iran docks small attack craft.
Deploying Marines to Iranian coastal islands rather than mainland Iran could offer a workaround, allowing President Trump to claim he has not placed U.S. ground troops on Iranian soil.
