STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Now, President Trump, yesterday, said he is not sending ground troops into the war with Iran and added to reporters that if he did, quote, "I certainly wouldn't tell you."
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
It's known that a Marine unit, 2,200 troops, was dispatched to the region with their vehicles, support ships and aircraft. We don't know the objective, if any, and we'll look this morning at one possibility - Kharg Island. It's in the Persian Gulf. It's the main location for Iran's oil infrastructure. The U.S. has already bombed its defenses from the air, and President Trump has been talking about bombing it again.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: As you know, we attacked Kharg Island and knocked it literally - destroyed everything on the island except for the area where the oil is. They call it the pipes.
INSKEEP: NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman is asking what it would mean and what it would take to seize and hold a chunk of Iranian territory. Tom, good morning.
TOM BOWMAN, BYLINE: Hey, Steve.
INSKEEP: OK, so what is known first about the government's interest in Kharg Island?
BOWMAN: Well, Steve, first of all, you know, Trump has talked about seizing the island back in the late 1980s when he was plugging one of his books. And so has the military, especially the Marines, for decades. Now, you either see Kharg Island or several sites on the mainland for a foothold, including a place called Bandar Abbas. And I'm told you could see even more Marines heading to the Middle East for that job, as well. And, Steve, I remember having lunch with a senior officer, it was like a decade ago, when talk turned to Iran and a possible war.
INSKEEP: Yeah.
BOWMAN: And this guy was saying, well, first of all, we would take some of their islands. And his aide said, Sir, we're heading into classified territory. Let's talk about something else. So now we have this 31st Marine expeditionary unit out of Okinawa, 2,200 Marines, as you said, heading to the Middle East. Now, no one is talking about what the mission is. It could be, you know, helping evacuate embassies, humanitarian mission or boarding ships. But again, it could be what they've talked about for decades - seizing some Iranian territory, and that could be this Kharg Island.
INSKEEP: You're telling me a valuable thing. It seems likely that the Marines have plans off the shelf...
BOWMAN: Absolutely.
INSKEEP: ...That they've had for years, ready for any occasion. Of course, the question, though, is whether you execute in this situation, and that we do not know. What would it look like if they tried to take an island in the Persian Gulf?
BOWMAN: Well, the retired senior officers I talked with say the Marines aboard ship could punch through the Strait of Hormuz with the help of American destroyers and land Marines and their armored vehicles ashore. They have an infantry battalion of about 800 Marines that could seize the three oil facilities on the island, two in the south and one in the West. The Marine unit also has F-35 aircraft as well as Cobra attack helicopters along with drones and also anti-drone technology to help with any threats.
INSKEEP: I'm just thinking, though, the reason you would do this would be to seize control of Iran's oil income. They've still got oil flowing. They still got money coming in, and this would stop that. I would imagine Iran would resist.
BOWMAN: Yeah. Iran would resist, of course, you know, with the missiles and drones in particular. And we've seen the U.S. drop several 5,000-pound bombs on missile sites on the Iranian coast. That could be preparing the battlefield for these Marines to seize Kharg Island, or it could be just getting ready for U.S. escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz. The Marines are heading there, Steve, and we just don't know what they'll be doing.
INSKEEP: How would sending in ground troops, if the United States were to do so, fit with President Trump's preference for no foreign wars, and when he does get into one, making it short?
BOWMAN: It would not fit in any way whatsoever. All you have to do is look at Iraq and Afghanistan.
INSKEEP: NPR's Tom Bowman. Thanks so much.
BOWMAN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
