Trump appears to be leaning toward ordering a ground operation against Iran, according to an official from one of the countries mediating between the US and Iran.
The official, intimately familiar with the mediation efforts, says Washington privately recognizes that Iran is unlikely to agree to the concessions in its 15-point plan, and has already dispatched thousands of troops to the region to capture Tehran’s Kharg Island on Trump’s orders.
Doubts over holding the island
A second mediating country official warns that while the US may be able to capture Kharg Island, holding it for an extended period will require far more soldiers and a much longer fight — well beyond the four-to-six week window Washington has publicly cited for the war.
Saturday marks the four-week point of the conflict, though the US still claims to be ahead of schedule.
Both officials say Iran is not likely to capitulate regardless of whether a ground operation moves forward, insisting Tehran will not accept terms now that it refused before the war began.
Friday deadline and troop buildup
Trump on Monday extended his deadline to Friday for Iran to accept his 15-point proposal or face a bombing campaign targeting its power plants.
Thousands of additional US Marines are expected to arrive in the region around that new deadline.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt warned Iran this week that Trump is ready to strike harder than ever before if no deal is reached, stating:
“The President doesn’t bluff and he is ready to unleash hell. Iran shouldn’t miscalculate again… any violence beyond this point will be because the Iranian regime refuses to come to a deal.”
Iran’s response
Iranian officials have said they don’t trust Trump’s negotiation push and view it as a cover for planned attacks.
Speaker of parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X that Iranian intelligence suggests enemies are preparing to occupy one of Iran’s islands, warning that all vital infrastructure of any aggressor nation would be targeted without limitation in response.
