Kharg Island is a coral island with an area about 1/3 of Manhattan (New York, USA), only 25km from the Iranian coast towards the Persian Gulf.
Almost every day, millions of barrels of crude oil are transported from Iran's main oil fields, including Ahvaz, Marun and Gachsaran, through pipelines to Kharg Island.
Iranians call Kharg a "Banned Island" due to strict military control.
Long wharves, protruding into deep enough water to hold super oil tankers, turn this island into an important location for oil distribution. This place processes 90% of Iran's crude oil exports.
For a long time, Kharg Island has played a key role in the Iranian economy. A CIA document in 1984 stated that this facility is "the most important in Iran's oil system, and its continued operation is essential for Iran's economic prosperity".
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid recently declared that destroying this port warehouse would "paralyze the Iranian economy and overthrow the regime.
According to TankerTrackers.com - a website that uses satellite images, coastal photos and data to track crude oil shipments, Kharg Island has continuously unloaded oil for oil tankers since the conflict broke out.
In the weeks before the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, oil exports from Kharg increased to near record levels, US investment bank JP Morgan said.
It is estimated that the storage capacity of the oil depot on Kharg Island is about 30 million barrels and there are currently about 18 million barrels of crude oil being stored on this island.
On March 13, the US attacked military facilities on Kharg Island. President Donald Trump declared this "one of the strongest airstrikes in Middle East history", wiping out military assets on Kharg Island.
A video posted by Mr. Trump on Truth Social shows US attacks on airport facilities and runways in Kharg.
A US military official said the attack was large-scale but avoided attacks on the island's oil infrastructure. The targets attacked included mine depots, missile silos and other military infrastructure.
Iran identified more than 15 explosions on the island of Kharg but no oil infrastructure was damaged.
However, Mr. Trump threatened to attack the island's oil resources if Iran continues to block ships from passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Discharged US Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt said that the US is holding this island as a "hostage" to ensure Iran allows ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. The closure of this strait has caused crude oil prices to skyrocket.
If the oil infrastructure on Kharg Island is targeted, "it is clear that Iran will attack the rest of the infrastructure in the Middle East. And by then, oil prices will get out of control" - Mr. Kimmitt warned.
If oil facilities in Kharg are attacked, Iran may take months, even more than 1 year to rebuild, said Muyu Xu, senior crude oil analyst at Kpler. She also added that as Iran's main oil buyer, China may be most affected if this scenario occurs.
