By Anthony Marcus for Eurasia Business News, March 29, 2026. Article n°2070
The Pentagon is reportedly preparing contingency plans for ground operations in Iran that could last “weeks, not months,” but no decision has been publicly confirmed.
The reporting says such an operation would not be a full invasion and could involve raids by infantry or special operations forces to seize strategic Iranian islands or seaport infrastructure on the Iranian seacoast.
The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit arrived in the Middle East. Iran said it would destroy U.S. forces if the military launches a ground invasion.
Regional diplomats met in Pakistan on Sunday to plot a course for peace. The host country, once isolated by Washington for harboring Osama bin Laden, is now part of an effort to get the U.S. and Iran to the negotiating table.
“The United States and Iran have expressed confidence in Pakistan’s ability to provide a suitable platform for the talks that Islamabad will be ready to host in the coming days”, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Sunday.
US troops have destroyed over 11 thousand targets in Iran since the beginning of the military operation, the US Central Command in the Middle East (CENTCOM) said on Saturday.
Among the targets, more than 150 Iranian warships were destroyed or damaged.
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The United States this week increased its aviation group in the Middle East, deploying an additional 24 combat fighters to the region, follows from the data of the aviation resource Military Air Tracking Alliance.
In particular, the United States sent a squadron of 12 F-16 fighters and a squadron of 10 fifth-generation F-35C stealth fighters. According to reports, they were deployed at the Ovda airbase in Israel, where 12 fifth-generation F-22 fighters have already been deployed since the beginning of the operation against Iran.
The ongoing major war in the Middle East, involving the US, Israel, and Iran, started on February 28, 2026. This conflict began with surprise US-Israeli airstrikes on Iranian sites, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and targeting military infrastructure, command centers, and nuclear-related facilities. Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks on Israel, US bases in Gulf states like Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, and Saudi Arabia, as well as allied targets.
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© Copyright 2026 – Eurasia Business News. Article no. 2070
Eurasia Business News 