Any attempt to take Kharg Island from Iran will end in “disaster”, with US troops being left “vulnerable” and potentially even being killed, military experts have warned. Donald Trump has said that destroying or seizing the island, through which 90% of Iran’s oil exports pass, would bring a swift end to the war.

Earlier this month, he ordered US forces to attack military targets on Kharg, but spared its refineries. However, alarm bells have begun ringing as to the viability of this as a long-term objective, with experts warning that it could actually have the opposite effect and lead to more conflict.

A former senior US military official told MS NOW that it would be “a disaster waiting to happen if that’s their mission”.

Vali Nasr, a leading expert on Iran and professor at Johns Hopkins University, added that an attack on Kharg Island would result in “major escalation” as Iran launches a “war of resistance”.

He told the outlet: “Taking Kharg means destroying it and Iran will respond with major escalation. Taking Iranian land and destroying its oil export depot will mean [the] beginning of a war of resistance in Iran.”

However, experts are warning that this too may not go as he plans, and may subject US forces to “drone and terrorist attacks”.

Senator Richard Blumenthal warned that 8,000 troops are not enough to reopen the Strait of Hormuz permanently. He said they could seize control of the waterway, but risk coming under attack in the future.

He said: “I strongly doubt 8,000 troops would be enough to take, hold and secure the territory necessary to truly secure the Strait of Hormuz. They’d be extremely vulnerable to drone and terrorist attacks, the longer they stay.”

She said: “I think that is a far more difficult military mission than the administration understands. It’s such a small and compressed area.”