Retired Gen. Jack Keane: Seizing Kharg Island Would Be Checkmate for Iran’s Regime
Retired four-star Army Gen. Jack Keane, speaking on Fox News on March 15, 2026, laid out the stark strategic reality facing Iran’s mullahs amid ongoing U.S. military operations.
Kharg Island is Iran’s economic lifeline. The tiny Persian Gulf outpost handles 90 percent of the regime’s crude oil exports.
Keane explained: “Kharg Island, I think everybody has been educated now, is a major strategic asset of the Iranians because 90% of their oil flows through that distribution point.”
He continued: “Because if we take Kharg Island, either we occupy it or blockade it, there’s a number of things that we can do. It’s kind of checkmate for the regime because now we own all of their major assets. It’s 50% of their budget, 60% of their revenue, 80-90% of the distribution points for their oil. It is clearly a strategic asset.”
The general stressed timing remains in American hands: “But we will do that at a time of our choosing, when it makes sense to us. And we’ve now sent a loud message to them that this is likely going to happen.”
While the Strait of Hormuz remains a potential flashpoint, Keane noted it “eventually will be a problem that will be solved, but not immediately.”
The message is clear: U.S. forces have already struck military targets on Kharg while sparing the oil facilities, preserving maximum leverage. The regime’s funding source hangs by a thread—and Washington decides when, or if, to cut it.