Iranian ‘present’ was oil tanks passing through Strait of Hormuz, Trump reveals, as Israel kills navy commander
40 mins ago
What a US ground operation in Iran could look like as Pentagon preps final phase
The U.S. is positioning ground-capable forces in the Middle East after Iran rejected negotiations Wednesday, as speculation grows that Washington could be preparing a decisive next phase and what a ground operation inside Iran might actually look like.
Military experts say the deployments are not a precursor to a large-scale invasion but instead position the U.S. for targeted, short-duration missions — the kind of operations that could be aimed at delivering an intended “final blow” as diplomatic off-ramps narrow.
But all options for a ground campaign come with high risk, they say.
U.S. officials have not confirmed any decision, but reporting indicates the Pentagon is weighing a range of aggressive options, including expanded strikes and potential ground operations.
In recent days, the Pentagon has moved ground-capable forces into the region, including around 1,000 paratroopers with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.
Among them is the 1st Brigade Combat Team, a core component of the military’s Immediate Response Force rapid-response unit designed to deploy on short notice to crises anywhere in the world.
Also deployed were a few thousand Marines and sailors assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and its Amphibious Ready Group, led by the amphibious assault ship Tripoli.
Marine expeditionary units and airborne forces often are among the first U.S. units deployed in a conflict to rapidly establish an initial presence and respond to emerging crises.
President Donald Trump said early Thursday on Truth Social Iran “better get serious soon, before it is too late, because once that happens, there is NO TURNING BACK, and it won’t be pretty!”
Military experts said the types of forces being deployed point to a more limited set of options on the ground.
“It is not for the type of ground invasion that we saw in Iraq,” James Robbins, Institute of World Politics dean and former special assistant to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, told Fox News Digital. “There simply aren’t enough troops.”
“The most logical step is to try to secure the straits by taking some key positions inside Iran,” Ehud Eilam, a former official with Israel’s Ministry of Defense, told Fox News Digital.
“For the Marines, it would probably be somewhere along the Iranian side of the Persian Gulf, around the straits or nearby to establish a base of operations,” Robbins said.
This is an excerpt from a report by Morgan Phillips
