(CNN)-- US President Donald Trump is studying options to expand military operations in Iran, including a plan to seize Kharg Island, Iran's vital export hub.

This move comes as the United States escalates its attacks on Iran, while peace talks between Washington and Tehran appear to have stalled.

The small island—about a third the size of Manhattan—lies just 25 kilometers (15 miles) off the Iranian coast in the Gulf.

US officials have described it as "the center of all Iranian oil supplies," and its deep-water berths are among the few in the region capable of accommodating supertankers, making it a critical oil distribution site.

The coral island handles about 90% of Iran's crude oil exports and is a vital lifeline for the country's economy.

A declassified 1984 CIA document described Kharg Island's facilities as "the most important in the Iranian oil system."

This is not the first time Trump has floated the idea of seizing the island, and the US has bombed it several times during the war.

Since 1988, decades before his election, Trump has spoken about invading it.

Opinions within the US administration are divided.

Some White House officials believe seizing the island would financially cripple Iran's Revolutionary Guard and could hasten the end of the war, but others in the administration are cautious given the ground forces such an operation would require.