According to The Wall Street Journal, US President Donald Trump declined to back a plan to seize Iran’s Khark Island because he feared heavy American casualties.

The newspaper, citing sources, reported that military officials had tried to persuade Trump that a landing operation would succeed and that control of the island would give Washington access to the Hormuz Strait. Trump, however, rejected the proposal, concluding that US forces would be too vulnerable to Iranian strikes.

The Journal also reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that Trump is wary of sending troops into dangerous areas where some soldiers could be wounded and others might not return home.

On April 7, US forces struck Khark Island. According to Axios, the targets were military facilities. Earlier, in March, The Jerusalem Post reported that the United States had accelerated the deployment of Marines and naval forces to the Middle East as Washington moved close to a decision on seizing Khark Island.