The Pentagon is preparing: a ground operation in Iran that may last months

The Speaker of the Parliament in Iran, Mohammad-Bakar Kalibaf, one of the most powerful people in the country today and who is marked according to reports as someone who may lead the country, sent a threatening message against the background of the possibility that the US would launch a ground operation. “The US publicly talks about negotiations, but secretly plans a ground operation in Iran. Iran’s armed forces are waiting for the US military and are ready to punish its regional partners,” Kalibaf said.

Yesterday it was reported in the Washington Post that the Pentagon is preparing for the possibility of a ground operation in Iran that will last weeks and maybe even months. At the same time as the report was published, another 5,000 Marines and sailors of the US Army arrived in the Middle East yesterday, in another extensive troop buildup in the region.

According to the report, it is not necessarily a large-scale ground invasion, but more focused operations, such as raids by special forces alongside regular infantry units. Such an operation is expected to expose the American forces to a variety of threats, including Iranian drones and missiles, firing from the ground and improvised explosive devices. It is also written that it is not clear whether Trump is expected to approve the plans, and White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt clarified: “It is the role of the Pentagon to formulate plans, this does not mean that such a decision has been made.”

In recent days, there have been conflicting messages from the government. On the one hand, it was claimed that the war was coming to an end, and on the other hand, threats were made to make it worse. Trump himself has signaled that he is interested in reaching an agreement that will end the fighting, but Levitt warned that if the regime in Tehran does not stop its nuclear ambitions and threats to the US and its allies, the president is “ready to unleash hell on them.”

In recent days, we published on N12 that President Trump is considering taking over Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, Iran’s oil export center, and carrying out raids in the coastal areas near the Strait of Hormuz in order to locate and destroy weapons that threaten civilian and military vessels. According to one of the sources, such tasks may last “weeks rather than months”, while another source estimated that “it is a matter of a period of several months”.

Trump himself said more than a week ago that he does not intend to deploy ground forces, but added that even if he did, he would not reveal it publicly. Foreign Minister Marco Rubio said last week that a prolonged conflict is not expected, and claimed that US goals can be achieved even without the use of ground forces.

The possibility of sending ground forces to Iran is met with great opposition in the American public. A joint survey of the news agency AP And a research center at the University of Chicago found that 62% of respondents oppose it, and only 12% support it. In relation to airstrikes, opinions were more divided.

Former security officials told the Washington Post that the plans for a ground operation “were carefully considered and are not improvised.” According to them, taking over Iranian territory may create leverage for future negotiations, but the main challenge will be to protect the forces after such a takeover.

Yesterday, thousands of Marines and sailors arrived in the Middle East in the 31st expeditionary unit of the amphibious landing ship “Tripoli” attack group, which arrived from Japan in the Indo-Pacific region. The Pentagon is also preparing to send a paratrooper brigade from the 82nd Airborne Division, one of the most prestigious units in the US Army, to the area, as well as another delivery unit of thousands of Marines that may arrive in the area within weeks.

It is estimated that Iran’s military forces are expected to fight with great force in response to attempts by the US to take over the island of Kharg or other additional territories from Iran. Senior Iranian officials have claimed in recent days that the Iranian army has concentrated its forces in Kharg precisely in preparation for the possibility of a ground campaign with the US army. Ali Akbar Ahmadian, former secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said that Iranian forces “have been waiting years for the US to enter these areas.”