The conflict between Iran and the United States is entering a new phase as US ground operations are being considered. The Washington Post reports the Pentagon is preparing for the possibility of “weeks” of ground operations in Iran. Any such operation would not be a large-scale invasion but could include special forces raids and infantry deployments.

In the past day, US and Israeli forces struck an Iranian port city near the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state agency IRNA reported that the attack on the Bandar Khamir pier killed five people and wounded four others.

Loud explosions were heard in the Iranian capital Tehran, especially in the northern districts, and were accompanied by visible plumes of smoke.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued an ultimatum threatening attacks on Israeli and American universities in the region. The Fars news agency, which is linked to the Guards, said the United States must condemn raids on Iranian universities by 12:00 Monday to “save” its regional campuses from reprisals.

The Iranian army, through military command spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaqari, warned that US troops would become “good food for the Gulf’s sharks.”

Read also