CAIRO, March 29 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran that began with targeted "decapitation" strikes on Feb. 28 has spiralled into a multi-front regional war with no end in sight.
As Sunday marks the 30-day milestone of the conflict, has the United States shifted its striking targets already? Is it ready to initiate a new phase of the campaign involving ground operations? And is it really vying for a diplomatic off-ramp? Here's what you need to know.
FROM MILITARY ASSETS TO ECONOMIC, ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE
In the first weeks of the war, U.S. and Israeli airstrikes focused primarily on eliminating key leadership and hitting Iran's military installations, missile launch sites, and command-and-control centers.
U.S. Navy Admiral Brad Cooper, who commands U.S. military forces in the region, claimed Wednesday in a video message that his forces had hit over 10,000 targets, destroying 92 percent of Iran's largest ships and more than two-thirds of its missile, drone and naval production facilities. "We're not done yet," he said.
Yet, as the conflict has dragged into its second month, targeting priorities have shifted significantly toward Iran's economic lifelines and energy infrastructure.
On March 13, U.S. warplanes bombed Iran's Kharg Island, Iran's main oil export hub in the Gulf, striking over 90 military sites. While initial strikes were described as targeting defensive positions, the island's oil infrastructure has since become a focal point, as Washington seeks to cripple Tehran's ability to generate revenue and sustain its war effort.
Meanwhile, Israeli and U.S. strikes have increasingly hit Iran's power distribution centers and industrial facilities. Iranian media reported in early March that an electricity distribution center supplying large sections of Tehran's eastern neighborhoods was knocked out for several hours after an airstrike.
U.S. and Israeli forces also expanded targets to include a heavy water production plant and a yellowcake production facility in central Iran, two steel plants in central and southwestern Iran, and a cement plant in southwestern Iran, all on Friday alone.
The University of Science and Technology in Tehran and the Isfahan University of Technology in the central city of Isfahan were also struck earlier this week.
Some analysts believed that the strategic logic behind this shift appears twofold -- to pressure Iran economically by targeting its energy exports, crucial for foreign revenues, and to demonstrate Washington's ability to strike anywhere inside Iran with impunity, and hence potentially force Tehran to the negotiating table.
TROOPS, SHIPS AND GROUND PREPARATION
The U.S. military presence in the region has expanded dramatically in recent days. On Saturday, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said the USS Tripoli, an amphibious assault ship carrying some 3,500 Marines and sailors, had arrived in the Middle East. The group also includes "transport and strike fighter aircraft, as well as amphibious assault and tactical assets," CENTCOM said in a post on social media platform X. This adds to what officials described as the largest U.S. force buildup in the region in more than 20 years.
The Pentagon has also deployed AH-64 Apache attack helicopters for operating on Iran's southern flank, CENTCOM said in updates released on March 16 and March 18.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that the United States is expected to send around 3,000 troops from the elite 82nd Airborne Division to the region, in addition to roughly 2,500 more soldiers from Asia. The Wall Street Journal and AFP both reported on Friday that U.S. officials are now considering sending up to 10,000 additional troops to the region to join thousands of paratroopers and Marines already there.
Meanwhile, despite U.S. State Secretary Marco Rubio's Saturday remarks insisting that the United States "can achieve all of our objectives without ground troops," several media reports have revealed that the Pentagon is drafting options for weeks, or even months, of potential ground operations in Iran.
The Washington Post, citing unnamed U.S. officials, said Saturday that the plans, which have been under development and "war-gamed," focus on limited but high-risk ground operations "by a mixture of Special Operations forces and conventional infantry troops," including raids into coastal areas near the Strait of Hormuz to "find and destroy weapons" capable of targeting international commercial and military shipping, rather than a full-scale invasion.
TALKS, THREATS, AND HORMUZ STRAIT
Perhaps the most striking feature of the conflict's 30th day is the stark disconnect between U.S. diplomatic rhetoric and military preparations. On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump claimed Washington had reached "major points of agreement" with Iran, telling reporters the two sides were "going to get together" by phone and that he had ordered a five-day delay of planned strikes on Iranian energy facilities. Washington had also proposed a 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran via intermediaries from Pakistan.
However, Tehran has repeatedly denied any direct or indirect communication with the United States. The semi-official Fars news agency reported Monday that there had been no contact, while the Iranian Foreign Ministry dismissed Trump's remarks as "part of efforts to reduce energy prices and buy time" for military plans. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated on Wednesday that Iran does "not intend to negotiate. So far, no negotiations have taken place."
On Sunday, Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused Washington of "openly sending a message of negotiation and secretly planning a ground attack."
Iran has also officially rejected the U.S. 15-point proposal and responded with its own five-point plan, which includes war reparations, guarantees against future attacks, and control over the Strait of Hormuz.
Reacting to Tehran's attitude, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt warned Wednesday that the United States would "unleash hell" on Iran if Tehran does not accept a deal. A day later, Trump said if Iran does not agree to a deal, it will face a U.S. "onslaught."
Behind the diplomatic theater, the Pentagon is drafting four "final blow" options for Trump, Axios reported Thursday, citing sources.
The options include invading or blockading Kharg Island, seizing Larak Island, a strategic location for controlling the Strait of Hormuz, capturing Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb, three strategic islands in the Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz that are controlled by Iran but claimed by the United Arab Emirates, as well as blockading or seizing vessels exporting Iranian oil through the eastern Strait of Hormuz.
Axios added that U.S. military planners have also drawn up options for seizing highly-enriched uranium stored at Iranian nuclear sites. ■
