Tensions are escalating in the Middle East as the United States prepares for ground operations lasting “weeks” in Iran, according to the Washington Post, while Iran threatens to strike American universities in the Middle East.
Middle East crisis: Possible ground operations by US, Iran responds with threats to universities
Specifically, as reported Saturday by the Washington Post, citing unnamed government sources, the Pentagon is preparing for weeks-long ground operations in Iran, while Washington has begun strengthening its ground forces in the Middle East. These operations are not planned to be a large-scale ground invasion of Iran, at least according to the newspaper’s sources, but raids on Iranian territory by special forces and other conventional units. This information comes to light as US forces in the Middle East were reinforced with the arrival of the USS Tripoli in the region, announced yesterday by the American military.
The helicopter carrier-aircraft carrier (capable of carrying twenty F-35s with vertical landing capabilities) and amphibious assault ship heads a strike group with “approximately 3,500” naval and marine personnel, according to the joint command of US armed forces responsible for the Middle East region (CENTCOM, “Central Command”). The arrival of this vessel in the CENTCOM area of responsibility was announced against the backdrop of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statement Friday that the US might achieve its war objectives in Iran within “weeks” without requiring the deployment of ground forces.
However, President Donald Trump has maintained an ambivalent stance for weeks regarding the possibility of ordering ground operations, and American media report in recent days that the possibility of sending at least another 10,000 troops to the Middle East in the near future is being considered.
Iran threatens to strike American universities in the Middle East
For their part, the Revolutionary Guards threatened to target American universities in the Middle East, citing the destruction of two Iranian universities in US and Israeli airstrikes. “If the American government wants its universities in the region not to suffer retaliation (…) it must condemn the bombing of universities with an official statement by noon on Monday, March 30th,” the Revolutionary Guards conveyed in a statement referenced by Iranian media.
The Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic, advised “workers, professors and students of American universities in the region to move one kilometer away” from university campuses, as these may become targets.
Several American universities have campuses in Gulf states, for example Texas A&M in Qatar, or NYU (New York University) in the United Arab Emirates. During Friday night into Saturday’s bombardments in Tehran, the University of Science and Technology in the northeastern part of the Iranian capital was particularly hit, resulting in extensive damage to its facilities, though no casualties were reported, according to Iranian media.
