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Thousands of US marines arrive in Middle East amid reports American president considering sending 10,000 troops
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Yemen‘s Iran-aligned Houthis have said they carried out a second attack on Israel in less than 24 hours and vowed to continue military operations in the coming days.
The group’s military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the attack on Saturday involved missile and drones.
The latest escalation in the Middle East conflict comes amid speculation Pentagon officials are preparing for potential ground operations in Iran, which could last for weeks, The Washington Post reported on Saturday.
Thousands of US marines have arrived in the region aboard the USS Tripoli, according to US Central Command.
“The America-class amphibious assault ship serves as the flagship for the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group/31st Marine Expeditionary Unit composed of about 3,500 Sailors and Marines in addition to transport and strike fighter aircraft, as well as amphibious assault and tactical assets,” wrote US Central Command on Saturday.
However, secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Friday that the US could achieve its goals without a ground invasion.
Earlier this week, reports from theWall Street Journal suggested US president Donald Trump was considering sending 10,000 troops.
Russian spy satellites photographed the UK-US based on Diego Garcia “in the interests of Iran”, according to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
The pictures were taken after Iran launched two ballistic missiles at the site, according to the leader.
Images of bases in the Middle East housing American and British troops were also taken.
The Ministry of Defence has previously said it is “highly likely” that Russia shared intelligence with Iran even before the outbreak of war last month.
In a post on X, Zelensky said he had received an intelligence briefing on Saturday setting out Russian satellite activity.
He said: “On March 24, they imaged the US–UK joint military facility on Diego Garcia located in the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean. They also captured pictures of Kuwait International Airport and parts of the infrastructure of the Greater Burgan oil field.
“On March 25, they took pictures of the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. The Shaybah oil and gas field in Saudi Arabia, Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, and Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar were all imaged on March 26.
“There are no Ukrainian facilities on this list. But who is helping whom when sanctions are lifted from an aggressor that earns daily revenue and provides intelligence for strikes against American, Middle Eastern, UK, and US–UK bases and so on?”
The United States has only destroyed a third of Iran’s missile and drone capabilities, according to Reuters who spoke with sources familiar with American intelligence.
Most of the country’s stockpile is immediately inaccessible but a sizeable arsenal remains available, according to the five sources.
A third of Iranian missiles have been destroyed and another third are likely damaged or buried underground, according to the report, with a similar assessment made for its drone arsenal.
Pentagon officials are preparing for potential ground operations in Iran, which could last for weeks, The Washington Post reported Saturday.
These potential operations wouldn’t amount to a full invasion, but could include raids by infantry troops and Special Operations forces, according to the outlet, which cited anonymous U.S. officials.
One source told the Post the goals being considered could take “weeks, not months,” while another estimated it could take “a couple of months.” It’s still unknown whether President Donald Trump will approve any of the plans, according to the report.
“It’s the job of the Pentagon to make preparations in order to give the Commander in Chief maximum optionality,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Post. “It does not mean the President has made a decision.”
Katie Hawkinson reports from Washington DC:
Iranian armed forces are waiting for the arrival of US forces by land and are ready to “punish” America’s regional partners, speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said on Sunday, according to state media.
He said that the US had spoken of negotiations in public while planning a ground invasion in private.
It comes amid reports by the Washington Post that the US is preparing for a ground invasion.
Iran’s embassy in South Africa accused US commander Leigh R Tate and executive officer Jeffrey E York aboard the USS Spruance of killing children at a school in Minab.
“Remember these two criminals. Leigh R. Tate, the commander, and Jeffrey E. York, the executive officer of the USS Spruance, who ordered the launch of Tomahawk missiles three times, killing 168 innocent children at a school in Minab,” the Iranian embassy said.
“In this war, Iran is fighting on behalf of humanity and freedom-seekers against those responsible for genocide,” it said in another post on X.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said they carried out a second attack on Israel in less than 24 hours using missiles and drones, and vowed to continue military operations in the coming days, the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a televised speech on Saturday.
The Houthis’ entry into the conflict adds to regional tensions, particularly given their ability to strike targets far beyond Yemen and disrupt shipping lanes around the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea, as they did in support of Hamas in Gaza following the 7 October 2023 attacks.
The Israeli embassy in Tokyo refused to accept a statement from atomic bomb survivors’ groups, which criticised attacks by Israel and the US on Iran.
Four groups part of the peace council issued a statement calling for an immediate ceasefire following US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran.
They sent the joint statement to the embassies of the countries involved.
“The document was sent back without even being read. I think they are becoming close-minded,” said Shigemitsu Tanaka, the 85-year-old head of the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivors Council.
Pakistan is hosting talks with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt on the Iran war today, according to Pakistan’s foreign ministry.
Foreign ministers from the four countries are set to hold “in-depth discussions on a range of issues, including efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region” today and tomorrow.
“We would discuss where the negotiations in this war are heading and how these four countries assess the situation and what can be done,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told broadcaster A Haber on Friday.
In recent weeks, Pakistan has positioned itself as a potential venue for indirect US-Iran negotiations.
It has conveyed to Tehran a US proposal for ending the war and offered to host talks between the two sides.
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Iran-US war latest: Ship carrying thousands of Marines arrives in Middle East as Yemen’s Houthis warn of more attacks – The Independent
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