Is US preparing for a ground operation in Iran? Marines deployment raises questions

Washington: The United States is sending additional troops to the Middle East amid the escalating conflict with Iran, raising questions about whether Washington could be preparing for a deeper military engagement in the region.

An American official said about 2,500 additional Marines and an amphibious assault ship are being deployed to the Middle East nearly two weeks into the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. Meanwhile, some reports indicate that as many as 5,000 Marines are send to the Middle East. 

The move comes as Donald Trump said U.S. forces carried out major strikes on Iran’s strategic Kharg Island, a key hub for the country’s oil exports.

Trump wrote in a social media post: “The Fake News Media hates to report how well the United States Military has done against Iran, which is totally defeated and wants a deal - But not a deal that I would accept!”

According to Iranian officials, the strikes targeted military facilities on the island, which houses the main terminal handling the country’s oil exports.

“Export and import operations, as well as the activities of companies based on the island, are currently ongoing,” Ehsan Jahaniyan, deputy governor of Bushehr province, was quoted as saying by Iranian media.

He added that daily life on the island continued normally and that there were no casualties reported.

Early Saturday, Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency said the U.S. strikes were limited to military installations and did not damage oil infrastructure.

The latest escalation comes as Iran continues missile and drone attacks against Israel and Gulf countries, while tensions across the region intensify.

Iran’s military command has warned it could expand the conflict if its energy infrastructure is targeted.

Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said Tehran would retaliate if attacks hit its oil facilities.

He warned that Iran would target “all oil, economic, and energy infrastructures belonging to oil companies across the region that have American shares or cooperate with America” if Iran’s energy and economic infrastructure were attacked.

Meanwhile, tensions have spread across the wider region. In Iraq, a missile struck a helipad inside the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, according to security officials.

The attack came shortly after an airstrike hit a residential building in the western Iranian city of Eyvan, killing several people, including a six-month-old infant, Iranian authorities said.

The expanding hostilities have also affected shipping routes and energy supplies, with Iran effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway through which about one-fifth of the world’s traded oil passes.

The deployment of additional U.S. Marines and naval assets has fueled speculation about the possibility of a broader military operation in the region, although U.S. officials have not confirmed any plans for ground action.