Why does the United States want to invade Khark Island in Iran, and what are the difficulties of this operation?
In a way, Khark Island can be called a "naval fortress." Conducting a strong attack and maintaining long-term occupation on the island would be similar to some operations of the US Marine Corps, but there are many special difficulties.
For US Marines, the first stage of the operation to capture Khark Island is something they have experience with. The island has a runway, and if the US goal is to seize and occupy the island, the Marines will most likely need to storm the runway to ensure supply lines on the island. The US Marine Corps has both successful experiences and lessons from failures in capturing airports.
Successful examples for the US military include: the 1983 invasion of Grenada's airport and the 2001 airborne operation in Afghanistan. However, the former relied on overwhelming forces to suppress a small number of defenders, while the latter captured and renovated an abandoned airport.
The air defense forces of Grenada mainly consisted of Soviet ZU-23 dual-barrel anti-aircraft guns and machine guns. When the US conducted airborne operations at Salinas Point and Pearls Airport, they used low-altitude parachute drops at 150 meters and helicopter assaults.
Before attacking Iran, Khark Island had already been equipped with the Bavar-373 (comparable to S-300/S-400), Tor-M1 air defense systems, and portable surface-to-air missiles. Under these conditions, paratroopers or large-scale helicopter/tiltrotor aircraft landings must first conduct prolonged air defense suppression - which is exactly what the US military is currently doing.
In Grenada, the US could directly suppress enemy positions with artillery; however, on Khark Island, any fire directed at the oil storage facilities could cause an ecological disaster and lead to an immediate surge in oil prices to $200–300 per barrel. Therefore, the US has been extremely cautious in its strikes against the island so far. Although Iran might potentially destroy the oil terminal and lay mines if facing loss, this possibility is not very high.
The geographical conditions of the two islands also differ.
Grenada is located in the isolated Caribbean Sea, and its ally Cuba is too far away to intervene quickly. The US completely controlled the sea and air superiority.
Khark Island is only 25–30 kilometers away from the Iranian mainland. This means that even if US Marines seize the island's airport and gain supplies, they would still be within the range of Iranian mainland rocket artillery. The defenders of Grenada had no capability to strike the occupied airport from the outside. Therefore, the US military's supporting forces and carrier-based aviation must... protect the Marines landing on the island and suppress the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps coastal forces.
It is currently difficult to estimate how many manpower resources this will require.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1859877823952908/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.