Striking Kharg Island only affects US, European-linked oil companies: former IRGC commander

The recent strikes on Kharg Island have not put pressure on Iran but will affect American and European-linked oil companies, a former commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Saturday.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Saturday, Hossein Kanani Moghaddam, who is also a military analyst, said that Iran had made preparations in advance to reduce dependence on the Strait of Hormuz, well before the U.S. strikes on Iranian islands, including the Kharg, which was targeted and hit by the U.S. forces.

"As you know, these measures date back many years; after the Iran-Iraq war, we took steps to reduce our dependence on the Strait of Hormuz and on exporting oil from the islands. To achieve this, we built oil pipelines in different regions so that we can export oil easily by land and sea without relying on the Strait of Hormuz. Even if they strike, as they have already done by attacking Abu Musa, they will gain nothing from it. On the contrary, it will intensify the oil crisis. Once the region enters into war, we have already declared that we would target all ports, as well as American banks and companies. In a way, this has given us a freer hand to take broader action, and that process has already begun," said Moghaddam.

"For this reason, they think that by striking Kharg or some of the islands, they can put pressure on us. On the contrary, all the pressure will fall on the U.S. and European-linked oil companies. That's why we face no problem in this regard. Even if they were to seize Kharg, we would respond as it is our territory, but in reality, it would not create any obstacle for our oil exports," he added.

Kharg Island lies about 25 km off Iran's northwestern Gulf coast. Roughly 6 km long and 3 km wide, it handles about 90 percent of Iran's crude exports.

The island contains storage tanks, pipelines, and deep-water jetties that allow supertankers to load crude. Many facilities are concentrated and exposed, making them vulnerable to attack.

On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the U.S. forces had carried out heavy strikes on Kharg Island while deliberately sparing its oil facilities.

Trump warned that any interference with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, by Iran or any other party, would prompt him to "immediately reconsider" that decision, leaving open the possibility of future strikes on the island's energy infrastructure.

Striking Kharg Island only affects US, European-linked oil companies: former IRGC commander

Striking Kharg Island only affects US, European-linked oil companies: former IRGC commander

Striking Kharg Island only affects US, European-linked oil companies: former IRGC commander

Striking Kharg Island only affects US, European-linked oil companies: former IRGC commander

The Global Security Initiative (GSI) proposed by China has shifted the paradigm in thinking about global security away from the traditional zero-sum mentality toward a vision rooted in dialogue and development, said a Chinese expert on Tuesday.

In April 2022, China proposed the Global Security Initiative (GSI), which aims to create a new path to security that prioritizes dialogue over confrontation, partnership over alliance, and win-win over zero-sum thinking.

The initiative provides a new course and approach to addressing the root causes of international conflicts and solving security challenges facing humanity.

During an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Wang Xinsong, associate professor at the School of Government at Beijing Normal University, hailed the initiative's importance amid escalating global challenges.

"It's been four years and we have witnessed that the Global Security Initiative or GSI has transformed from a framework in principle to an action plan with many actions having taken place in mediating the conflicts. The major difference between the GSI and the traditional and the existing mainstream idea about global security is that the mainstream idea is being the zero-sum mentality where the belief is that one country's safety is possible only if its neighbors safety is not existent. The GSI shifts the paradigm in thinking about global security away from the zero-sum mentality by arguing that security at the end of the day is very much related to development," Wang said.

Over the past four years, China has consistently promoted the implementation of the GSI. By the end of 2025, the initiative has received support and appreciation from more than 130 countries and regions, as well as international organizations, and has been explicitly incorporated into more than 140 bilateral and multilateral documents at home and abroad.

China's Global Security Initiative shifts paradigm away from traditional zero-sum mentality: expert