Kharg Island. Why this small point is crucial to Iran

Kharg Island lies in the northern part of the Persian Gulf and has served as Iran's main oil export terminal for decades. It is here that most of the raw material sent from oil fields located in the country goes. The administratively island belongs to the province of Buszehr.

In recent days, the name of this small island has increasingly appeared in the analysis of tensions in the Middle East.

Geographical location of the island

The island lies in the northern part of the Persian Gulf, about 25 km from Iran's coast. Administratively belongs to the province of Buszehr, whose coast is one of the main areas of Iran Energy industry. Kharg is about halfway between the port of Buszehr and the entrance to the Strait of Ormuz. It is strategically important for world shipping a narrow shipping trail which in recent days has again been at the centre of tension in the Middle East.

The location of the island in the open waters of the Persian Gulf allows the operation of large tankers, which cannot call many ports located directly on the Iranian coast. This made Kharg a natural site for the construction of Iran's largest oil export terminal.

Strategic importance of Kharg Island

The importance of the island for the entire economy of Iran is due to the fact that its terminals are even passing through about 90% of Iranian oil exports. Large energy infrastructure was concentrated on a small area: storage tanks, pipelines and loading stations for large tankers. Thanks to them oil can be quickly reloaded and sent to World markets.

From a geopolitical point of view, Kharg is one of the most important points on the map of Iranian energy infrastructure. The damage to the terminal or the loss of control of the island could in a short time severely restrict Iran's ability to export oil and thus hit the main source of state revenue. That is why the island was already the target of the attacks in the past – especially during the Iraqi-Iran War in the 1980s.

Today, under growing tensions on Middle East, Kharg is again at the center of the attention of analysts and military. Any disruption of the operation of this terminal could quickly affect not only Iran's situation but also the global oil market.