The US-Iran war has entered its fifth week, and there is no clear indication of where the conflict is headed. Is a resolution nearby, or will the West Asia region witness more attacks and greater loss of life?
There is a lot at stake for the entire world as the war continues to rage in the Middle East. With the Strait of Hormuz blocked, countries, including India, that depend on energy supplies passing through this narrow passage controlled by Iran are struggling to meet their domestic demand.
Where is this war headed?
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, the US is considering sending 10,000 soldiers to the Middle East for a possible ground invasion of Iran. Following the report, Iran issued a warning to the US through its national English daily, Tehran Times.
The newspaper’s front page carried an image of US troops boarding a carrier, with the caption: “Welcome to hell. US troops who step foot on Iranian soil will leave only in coffins.”
Is US actually doing a ground invasion in Iran?
The US secretary of state Marco Rubio, as per Bloomberg, told reporters after the conclusion of the G7 meet in Paris that the war is not going to take months but weeks to end. On the report of US sending troops for ground attack in Iran, he said that America can achieve its objectives without sending troops on ground. However, he added that their presence gives the US President Donald Trump options.
“The president has to be prepared for multiple contingencies, which I’m not going to discuss in the media,” Rubio told reporters. “We can achieve all of our objectives without ground troops. But we are always going to be prepared to give the president maximum optionality and maximum opportunity to adjust to contingencies should they emerge,” Rubio was quoted by Bloomberg.
3,500 marines land in Middle East
On Saturday, March 29, the US Central Command said on X that 3,500 Marines and sailors had landed in the Middle East. A Bloomberg report added that the US Department of Defense is considering sending a total of 5,000 troops to the region in two batches. The first batch arrived on Saturday, while the second is expected to take more time.
Meanwhile, Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said on Friday that he believes Iran will hold talks with Washington ‘this week’ to end the month-long war.
“We think there will be meetings this week; we’re certainly hopeful,” Witkoff told a business forum in Miami. He added that Washington expects Tehran to respond to a 15-point US peace plan. “It could solve it all.”
Trump had extended the deadline for Iran to agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face attacks on its power infrastructure, by ten days, until April 6. Until then, the US appears to be increasing pressure on the Islamic Republic by deploying more troops, urging it to respond to the peace plan.
What is Iran’s reply to the US sending troops for ground invasion?
Over the last week, Trump has made many statements saying that he is in constant touch with a powerful leader in Iran to bring an end to the war but Tehran has repeatedly denied such claims. On Sunday, Iran’s Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused the US and Israel of planning a ‘ground invasion’ under the guise of diplomacy, warning that Tehran will not yield to pressure, according to Iranian state media Press TV.
Ghalibaf pointed to the hypocrisy of the US by noting that while they talk about peace, they are sending more troops to the region. “The enemy talks of negotiations but plans a ground invasion. The US seeks in a 15-point list what it couldn’t win in war. Our forces are ready, and we will never be humiliated,” he told Iranian state media Press TV, according to ANI.
