Dhaka, March 27 -- President Donald Trump has been weighing whether to use ground forces to seize Iran's strategic oil hub of Kharg Island, an operation analysts say could be achieved quickly, but leave US troops in great peril and prolong rather than shorten the war.

WHERE IS KHARG ISLAND AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

Kharg Island sits 16 miles (26 km) from Iran's coast in the northern end of the Gulf, about 300 miles (483 km) northwest of the Strait of Hormuz. It lies in waters deep enough to enable the docking of tankers that are too large to approach the Iranian mainland's shallow coastal waters.

The island handles 90% of Iran's oil exports and seizing it would give the United States the ability to severely disrupt Iran's energy trade, ...