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The Pentagon is considering several scenarios in its ongoing Middle East war since late February.
Images of a US training exercise simulating a landing have never seemed so current. Two ships with amphibious capabilities like those used in these sequences are en route to the Middle East, along with paratroopers. The dispatch of an additional 10,000 men is even being considered, according to American media reports. The Pentagon is preparing several scenarios in case negotiations fail. The first involves seizing control of Kharg Island, highly strategic as it is the transit point for 90% of Iranian oil exports. The US has previously conducted strikes there without targeting the oil infrastructure.
Control over this rather than destruction could be a way to pressure Tehran: “It’s the Pasdaran’s safe. It’s a kind of gas station, a refinery gas station if you will, where tankers come to refuel and money flows in to pay the regime in Tehran,” explains General Dominique Trinquand, former head of the French military mission to the UN.
Another option being studied by Washington is attacking Qeshm and Larak Islands in the Strait of Hormuz and landing on nearby shores to secure passage for cargo ships. Iranian intelligence services are on high alert: “According to our intelligence, Iran’s enemies, with the support of a regional country, are preparing an operation to occupy an Iranian island. All enemy movements are monitored by our armed forces,” announced X Mohammad Ghalibaf, speaker of the Iranian parliament.
According to Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State visiting France, the US is simply being prepared: “We can achieve all our objectives with minimal troops on the ground, but we always want to be prepared to give the president every option,” Marco Rubio stated.
The final scenario involves sending special forces to seize Iranian enriched uranium. Currently, the US continues with airstrikes. An invasion of the entire territory is currently impossible. It would require a much larger military operation. Officially, Donald Trump still prefers diplomacy. Whichever scenario is chosen, it would be a risky move militarily and politically. Sending troops on the ground remains unpopular in the United States.
