The dilemma facing the Trump administration right now is whether or not to send US troops to Iran. So far, President Trump has not formally approved a full-scale ground invasion; however, multiple sources indicate that the Pentagon is actively preparing for that option.
The US military has been reported to be planning for “weeks of ground operations”; expected to involve both Special Operations and conventional forces. However, US officials indicate that this will not be a full-scare invasion; rather, US forces may conduct limited raids on key targets, such as oil infrastructure and military installations located along the coast.
Iran-US war: Talks In Public, War Planning In Background
The discrepancies between what Washington is publicly proclaiming and what Washington is actually doing adds another layer of complexity. In some ways President Trump is publicly negotiating with Iran even suggesting that Tehran needs to “get serious” about negotiating a peace agreement, while also simultaneously building up the US military in the region.
The numbers of US military personnel (for example, Marines and the 82nd Airborne Division) that are repositioned from Iraq closer to Iran continue to grow. Consequently, Tehran is accusing Washington of using a diplomatic stream as a façade in preparation for a potential ground invasion of Iran.
Iran Issues Strong Warnings
Iran has issued very serious threats about an imminent ground invasion from the United States. Intelligence leaders and military thought have given assurances that if America were to try and enter Iranian soil, the result would be an outrageous amount of resistance.
At least one senior military commander in Iran has said, “We are counting the days and seconds until we can kill the invading American Troops.” Another comment made reference to total destruction of the invading military, saying any troops that invade will cease to be a member of the human race, will be “captured, cut to pieces and will disappear from existence,” giving credence to the severity of those threats.
Strengths of Iran’s Military and their Doctrine
There are a number of strategic reasons that ground invasion of Iran is viewed as very risky by many in the military intelligence community across the globe. First, the Iranian military is composed of a strong, multi-faceted military capability and has hundreds of thousands of active ground troop, and will be able to quickly mobilise an enormous amount of additional ground troop if needed.
Another important strategic aspect of Iran’s military is their use of a defence strategy called ‘mosaic defence’. By dispersing the total number of soldiers and using small tactical units, it would be nearly impossible for an invading Army to rapidly occupy a significant portion of Iran. In addition, unlike most other countries who normally have one army unit functioning under a central command, the Iranian military allows multiple local independent army units to continue to combat an invading Army, even if the key bases have been destroyed.
Ground War with Iran Offers Increased Risk
Military analysts believe an invasion of Iran would be significantly different than any recent US war that has occurred. For instance, Iran’s terrain is much more challenging than in most of the countries the US has previously fought; there will likely be much stronger resistance coming from the local populace; and Iran has a large inventory of offensive weapons systems, including missiles and drones, many of which have survived recently carried out attacks by US air power.
U.S. military officials report that following weeks of attacks on Iran’s missile systems, only a portion of these systems have been eliminated, thereby indicating a constant future missile, drone and terrorist threat against American forces on the ground.
Increased U.S. Troop Deployments Cause Concerns
Since February of 2008, there have been several events that have escalated fears regarding a ground invasion of Iran by US military forces. First, the US has now sent thousands of additional US military personnel to the Middle East, such as the 3,500 personnel aboard USS Tripoli, raising speculation regarding possible “ground” operations.
Second, military experts are now concerned that even a limited ground operation could lead to extended military operations against Iran. For example, limited raids could quickly evolve into a protracted and expensive war if Iranian government officials expand the conflict beyond the borders of Iran.
Final Decision Not Made Yet
There are still no definite decisions regarding the situation even after significant planning by the United States government. There have been many indications that whatever happens, the United States will have the option to respond with any option available and that the outcome is dependent on how things develop.
While there continues to be a risk of ground invasion, this risk has been exacerbated by the fact that both sides are preparing for an escalation should that occur and therefore cannot be predicted with confidence. The next few days will be crucial to determine whether or not the situation will resolve through peaceful cooperation, or whether it will proceed into a much more critical condition.
Khalid Qasid is a media enthusiast with a strong interest in documentary filmmaking. He holds a Master’s degree in Convergent Journalism from AJK MCRC. He has also written extensively on esports at Sportsdunia. Currently, he covers world and general news at NewsX Digital.
