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The United States appears to be moving toward a ground operation against Iran, with Washington dispatching thousands of troops to capture the strategically vital Kharg Island on orders from President Donald Trump, according to officials from countries mediating between the two sides.
An official intimately familiar with the mediation efforts told The Times of Israel that the US privately acknowledges Iran is unlikely to agree to the sweeping concessions laid out in Washington's 15-point proposal, and that the troop deployments to the region are intended to seize the island, the nerve center of Iran's oil export infrastructure. Trump, the official said, "appears to be leaning toward ordering a US ground operation against Iran," with Washington convinced that Tehran will capitulate under such military pressure.
The assessment, however, was sharply disputed by both mediating officials, who warned that Iran is not likely to surrender regardless of whether US forces move on the island.
A second official from a mediating country cautioned that while the US military may have the capability to capture Kharg Island, holding it over an extended period would demand far more troops and a prolonged campaign well beyond the four-to-six week timeline that Washington has presented to the American public. Saturday will mark four weeks since the war began on February 28, though US officials continue to insist the operation is running ahead of schedule.
The warning underscores a growing disconnect between the administration's public messaging and the assessments of regional intermediaries who have had direct access to both sides. Both officials said Iran will not agree to terms it was unwilling to accept before the US launched the war, suggesting that the military campaign has not shifted Tehran's negotiating posture in the way Washington had hoped.
Trump announced on Monday that he was pushing back until Friday his deadline for Iran to accept the 15-point proposal or face a bombing campaign targeting the country's power plants. The extension comes as thousands of additional US Marine troops are scheduled to arrive in the region around the time of that new deadline, a convergence that mediating officials view as preparation for a potential ground assault rather than mere posturing.
The 15-point plan, which has been transmitted to Tehran through Pakistani intermediaries, reportedly addresses Iran's nuclear program, its ballistic missile capabilities, support for armed proxy groups, and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for sanctions relief. Iran has publicly described the proposal as unworkable.
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