00:00Trump threatens ground invasion of Iran's strategic Karg Island as ceasefire collapses.
00:06Washington, June 10-11. President Donald Trump has threatened to launch a ground invasion of
00:12Iran's strategic Karg Island, the hub of Iran's oil export industry, as diplomatic efforts to
00:17secure a permanent ceasefire appear to have reached a breaking point. In a series of social
00:23media posts and television interviews, Trump vowed that the United States would seize Karg Island
00:28and other oil infrastructure points, adopting a strategy similar to the one used in Venezuela
00:33after the January ouster of Nicolas Maduro. The United States will be hitting Iran
00:38very hard tonight, Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday. At some point in the not-too-distant
00:44future, we will be taking Karg Island and other oil infrastructure points and assume total control
00:49of their oil and gas markets, much like we have with Venezuela, which is working out brilliantly
00:54for both Venezuela and the United States of America. The threat marks a significant escalation
01:00in rhetoric. Until now, the U.S.-Israeli air campaign had focused on strategic bombing of
01:06Iran's air defense systems, nuclear facilities, and military infrastructure. A ground invasion,
01:12even of a small island, would represent a major new phase of the conflict.
01:16The strategic prize, Karg Island. Karg Island, located approximately 30 kilometers, 19 miles,
01:25off Iran's coast in the Persian Gulf, is the economic lifeline of the Islamic Republic.
01:30The island processes and exports about 90 percent of Iran's crude oil, the primary source of revenue
01:36for the regime's military, nuclear program, and regional proxy network. For the Trump administration,
01:42seizing the island would not only cripple Iran's economy, but also send an unmistakable message.
01:48The United States can and will dismantle the Islamic Republic's ability to finance its war machine.
01:55Trump drew a direct parallel to Venezuela, where U.S. forces deposed Maduro in January,
02:01and subsequently took control of the country's oil exports. According to CFR analysis, nearly 100 million
02:08barrels of Venezuelan oil, worth approximately $8 billion, have been exported under U.S. control in
02:15the first four months following Maduro's ouster. Trump has repeatedly framed this as a model for Iran.
02:21The whole thing is crazy, and they're really in submission, they just don't know it yet.
02:25We are talking to them, Trump told Fox News. Military preparations. Paratroopers deployed.
02:32The threat comes amid a massive U.S. military buildup in the Middle East.
02:37Thousands of paratroopers from the elite 82nd Airborne Division, the military's immediate response force,
02:42capable of deploying anywhere in the world within 18 hours, have arrived in the region.
02:47The deployment includes a full brigade combat team of approximately 3,000 soldiers,
02:53along with logistics and support units. These forces are staging at forward bases,
02:58rather than executing immediate combat drops, but they are positioned to respond rapidly to any order for
03:04a ground operation. Defense officials have emphasized that the move expands operational capacity,
03:10rather than signaling an imminent ground war. However, the 82nd Airborne Division specializes
03:16in parachuting directly into hostile areas that lack secure landing zones, with a primary mission to
03:22quickly seize key terrain before heavier forces arrive. Any operation to capture Card Island would almost
03:29certainly require these troops to execute combat landings under fire.
03:33The Iranian Trap Iran has not been idle. Since March, Tehran has been systematically
03:40fortifying Card Island in anticipation of precisely such an operation. According to CNN reporting cited by
03:47multiple outlets, Iran has deployed additional portable anti-aircraft missile systems,
03:52MANPADs, to the island and laid extensive minefields, including both anti-personnel and anti-armor mines,
04:00along potential landing zones and the island shoreline.
04:03The Iranians are clever and ruthless, CNN military analyst, retired Admiral James Stavridis warned.
04:10He argued that Iranian forces would do everything they can to inflict maximum casualties on American troops.
04:17Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher-Ghalibov, has warned that any attempt to occupy Iranian territory
04:23would be met with strikes against the infrastructure of any country that supports the U.S. operation.
04:29Military analysis. The challenge of seizing Carg. Military experts have warned that capturing Carg
04:35Island would be far from straightforward. The island is heavily fortified with missile batteries,
04:40naval mines, and IRGC units. One retired Israeli general, speaking to the Wall Street Journal,
04:46called Carg the Forbidden Island. Taking it would likely require thousands of U.S. troops,
04:52potentially 5,000 or more, and would necessitate first neutralizing Iran's ability to fire missiles
04:58at the invasion force from the mainland. This would require the U.S. to not only capture Carg,
05:04but also establish control over adjacent Iranian coastal areas to create a buffer zone and prevent
05:10Iranian forces from firing on the island. Some strategists have suggested the U.S. would need to
05:15capture territory on the Iranian mainland itself, effectively establishing a permanent U.S. military
05:21presence on Iranian soil. However, Trump has expressed ambivalence about committing ground troops.
05:28Look, my preference has always been take Carg Island. I don't know that America has the stomach
05:34for it, to be honest, he told Fox News. I don't want to have boots on the ground, but if
05:39I wanted to,
05:40we could put a small group of soldiers and take over the whole place. He also stated a preference for
05:45avoiding strikes on civilian infrastructure. I'd rather not do it, because once you do that,
05:51the people suffer. The ceasefire collapse. The threat of ground invasion comes as the
05:57fragile ceasefire brokered by Pakistan in early April has effectively collapsed. The U.S. has launched
06:04multiple retaliatory strikes after Iran shot down a U.S. Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz.
06:10Both crew members were rescued by an AI-powered drone vessel. Trump has lost patience with Iranian
06:17negotiators, telling reporters that they keep playing us for suckers and accusing Tehran's
06:22negotiators of tapping us along. The president's core demands remain unchanged. Iran must permanently
06:29abandon its nuclear weapons program, surrender its stockpile of enriched uranium, and fully reopen the
06:35Strait of Hormuz to international shipping without tolls or control. Tehran has so far refused these
06:42terms. Israel's role. Israel has made clear that it stands ready to assist any U.S. ground operation.
06:50Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly told Trump that Israel could drop special forces into
06:55Tehran itself to capture the capital and trigger a popular uprising against the regime. Israeli leaders
07:02believe that approximately 80 percent of Iran's 90 million citizens oppose the current theocratic
07:07regime. According to polling data cited by CPNN, surveys conducted by the Group for Analyzing and
07:13Measuring Attitudes in Iran, Gaman, have consistently shown that roughly 70 to 80 percent of Iranians would
07:20not vote for the Islamic Republic. However, analysts caution that unarmed civilians facing IRGC security forces
07:28equipped with machine guns and armored vehicles would likely be massacred. The regime has demonstrated
07:34its willingness to kill protesters. Human rights organizations reported that at least 7,000 people
07:40were killed during the crackdown on the January 2026 anti-government protests. Domestic U.S. opposition.
07:48Trump faces significant domestic constraints. On June 3rd, the House of Representatives passed a
07:54War Powers Resolution, House Concurrent Resolution 86, by a vote of 215 to 208, directing the President to
08:01remove U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran. The resolution is currently before the Senate. Even if it
08:07passes, Trump retains the authority to veto it, though an override would require a two-thirds majority in
08:13both chambers. Senator Edward Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, has been a leading voice against the
08:21administration's military adventurism. Following the January intervention in Venezuela, Markey demanded
08:27that the administration provide a legal basis for seizing and selling Venezuelan oil, warning that the
08:33U.S. risked entrenching a corrupt successor regime without transparency or accountability. Similar
08:39concerns would likely apply to any Iranian oil seizure. Divided Iranian society
08:46Iranian society remains deeply divided. On one hand, the government has organized nightly pro-regime
08:53rallies that have been held for over 70 consecutive nights in cities across the country, with state
08:58media describing them as spontaneous expressions of national unity. However, many Iranians view these
09:04gatherings with contempt. They annoy me so much. They are complete idiots, coming and standing and
09:10waving flags for four or five hours. One woman told that others see the rallies as a coercive tool.
09:16One man described being stopped at a police checkpoint and told,
09:20come and wave flags at night so we don't open a file on you. A reference to the regime's practice
09:26of fabricating legal cases against perceived dissenters. The regime's brutal crackdown on the January protests,
09:33which reportedly killed at least 7,000 people, has left deep scars. For many Iranians,
09:39the contrast between the government's encouragement of pro-regime rallies and its lethal response to
09:44anti-government demonstrations is stark. What comes next? Trump has indicated that he is not
09:51yet committed to a ground invasion, telling Fox News that, I don't know that America has the stomach for
09:56it. However, his frustration with Iranian stalling is evident, and his patience is wearing thin.
10:02If they don't make a deal, we'll do it one way or the other, Trump said. Either way, we win.
10:08Iran's leadership, for its part, appears to be bracing for the worst. The fortification of Harg
10:14Island, the deployment of additional air defense systems, and the laying of minefields all suggest
10:20that Tehran expects an attempt and is preparing to exact a high price for it. As one analyst put it,
10:27seizing Harg Island would cut off Iran's economic lifeline, but doing so could also trigger a regional
10:33war that draws in Hezbollah, the Houthis, and other Iranian proxies,
10:38and could cost the United States dearly in blood and treasure.
10:41Hezbollah, the Houthis, and the Houthis, and the Houthis, and the Houthis.
10:42You
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