On March 12, Fox host Jesse Watters urged President Donald Trump to seize Iran’s Kharg Island and suggested doing so would end the war. And he’s far from the only right-wing pundit making such a call as the war continues to disrupt global oil supplies and drive up gas prices in the U.S. But other reporters and experts warn that this type of escalation could send “energy prices even higher” and be unnecessarily risky for troops. 

As Politico reported, the attacks on Kharg Island began last week, with Trump bombing military sites. Now the president is “considering plans to occupy or blockade Iran's Kharg Island.” 

However, according to The New York Times:

An operation to seize Kharg Island would also likely mean “boots on the ground.” Retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery said a mission like this “could expose U.S. troops to an unnecessary degree of risk given the uncertain upside.”  

Despite these warnings, some right-wing media personalities are urging Trump to seize Kharg Island 

Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade encouraged Marines to “grab Kharg Island,” arguing that doing so would not constitute putting “boots on the ground” because it’s an island.

“If you're on an island, you're not really in Iran,” he claimed. “You're on an island controlling the infrastructure. And you could be holding this area and still get around having boots on the ground.” 

In an interview, Fox News host Sean Hannity asked Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) if this war would be different from “what happened in Iraq and Afghanistan.” Graham said, “Mr. President, take Kharg Island. This war is over.”

The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro claimed that if he was in charge he “would've already moved to take Kharg Island” and that “if that requires putting special operators on the ground to do it, I would do it.”

On Newsmax, more than one guest had the same sentiment. 

On Wake Up America, retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg — a former acting national security adviser and co-chair of American Security at the America First Policy Institute — told correspondent Christina Thompson, “I hope he takes Kharg Island.” 

The day before, Thompson suggested that targeting Kharg Island “could ricochet,” and University of Maryland professor Peter Morici responded that “the real threat is that they would turn around and then start taking out their neighboring states’ oil infrastructure” but “they’re doing it anyway.” Because of this, he said, the island should “all be rubble.”  

Another guest framed an attempt by U.S. Marines to seize the island as guaranteed success. 

In an interview with Fox’s Charles Hurt, Defense of Democracies Foundation president Clifford May said there would be “no defense of Kharg Island if you have U.S. Marines who decide it to be useful to take it over.” He continued, “There's no question we have the military ability, takes a little time, to clear the Strait of Hormuz and make freedom of the seas a reality again.”