Kharg is one of the most important Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf — small in size but of enormous commercial, economic, military, and historical significance. During the Iran-Iraq War, the island was targeted in more than 2,888 aerial and missile attacks, yet it remained Iran’ s primary source of oil revenue until the very last day of the war.

Kharg is approximately eight kilometers long, five kilometers wide, and covers less than forty square kilometers. Two kilometers to the north lies Khargou Island, which is administratively part of Kharg. The island rises 83 meters above sea level and is lined with hills running north to south along its length. One of its heights is a formation known as Takht, standing 76 meters above sea level. The central ridge gives the island the shape of a sailboat and acts as a natural shield against strong northerly winds, making the southern shores well-suited for docking vessels. Seventy percent of Kharg’ s population are migrants who settled there following the establishment of the National Iranian Oil Company. The island hosts the National Iranian Tanker Company, the Terminals and Petroleum Products Export Company, the Iran Offshore Oil Company, a petrochemical plant, an airport, a hospital, and an Islamic Azad University branch, among other facilities.⁠[1]

Kharg is Iran’ s largest crude oil export terminal. In 1960, the first oil for export started to flow and arrived at the island’ s storage tanks, and the vessel Heldia became the first tanker to load a cargo there, with a capacity of 16,748 tons.

When the Iran-Iraq War began on September 22, 1980, the destruction of vital economic resources and oil infrastructure became one of the enemy’ s key strategic objectives. Iran’ s economic capacity and financial resources were largely sustained through crude oil sales, and the enemy sought to disrupt both the war effort and daily civilian life by targeting them. Over the eight years of the war, Kharg Island was subjected to 2,888 aerial and missile strikes. Throughout the war, employees of the oil companies stationed on the island and on the Abuzar, Dorood, Foroozan, and Esfandiar oil platforms contributed to protecting the country’ s economic lifeline — and a number were martyred in the process. The first aerial attack on Kharg’ s oil facilities took place on September 24, 1980.⁠[2]

In 1981, Iraqi naval vessels attacked the Foroozan oil platform and Iraqi aircraft struck the Iranian Oil Company’ s jetty, causing severe damage to both.⁠[3]

On March 19, 1985, Iraqi aircraft carried out a heavy bombing of the mechanical workshop of the Iran Offshore Oil Company.⁠[4]

As the prospect of falling oil prices emerged alongside Saudi Arabia — OPEC’ s leading producer — increasing its oil supply, discussions within Iran turned to launching a decisive final operation to break the existing deadlock and end the war. Iraq, meanwhile, gained nothing from its aerial bombardment of Tehran and halted the strikes after three weeks, following a massive public turnout at the 1985 Quds Day march.

Finding itself at an impasse, Iraq took the initiative again two months later. In August 1985 — just days after Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’ s election as president — it attacked the Kharg oil terminal using newly acquired capabilities. After each strike, foreign media would run psychological warfare campaigns claiming that Kharg’ s jetties had been completely disabled, that Iran’ s export capacity had been destroyed, and that oil revenues had been cut off. Yet thanks to the combined efforts of Iran’ s air defense personnel and oil industry workers, and through various contingency measures, oil exports continued uninterrupted.⁠[5]

With Kharg at the top of its air strike priorities, Iraq sent 49 enemy aircraft into the island’ s vicinity on October 5, 1980, where they were engaged by Iranian air defenses. The following day, 39 aircraft were detected in the area. Saddam offered rewards to Iraqi pilots for bombing Kharg Island.⁠[6]

By 1985, Iraq had been supplied by Western countries and imperialist powers with advanced weaponry — including Mirage and Super É tendard aircraft, long-range Exocet missiles, and various biological and chemical bombs — opening a new phase of attacks on the island. The enemy used Exocet missiles from long range to target oil facilities and tankers along the Kharg route. The last recorded enemy airstrike on Kharg Island took place on June 4, 1988.⁠[7]

According to the 2016 census, the population of Kharg Island — one of the cities of Bushehr Province — stands at 8,193.⁠[8]