With the U.S. troop buildup, the number of U.S. forces deployed in the Middle East has now surpassed 50,000, but there are assessments that with this force size it is virtually impossible to gain the upper hand in a large-scale ground war.
On the 29th, The New York Times (NYT) reported that, adding the newly deployed personnel to the existing troops at U.S. bases, the number of U.S. forces in the Middle East totals more than 50,000. That is an increase of about 10,000 in just one month.
Earlier, the U.S. reinforcements were observed arriving near Iran one after another. U.S. Central Command said on the 27th that the amphibious assault ship Tripoli, carrying 3,500 Navy and Marine Corps personnel, had arrived in its area of responsibility, and about 2,000 soldiers from the Army's elite 82nd Airborne Division have also been dispatched to the Middle East.
However, military experts note that with this scale it may be difficult to conduct ground operations.
Israel, during the 2023 war in the Palestinian Gaza Strip, deployed more than about 300,000 troops, and in 2003 the U.S.-led coalition also mobilized about 250,000 troops to invade Iraq.
In particular, Iran, which is about one-third the size of the U.S. mainland, is surrounded by mountain ranges and features a unique terrain of plateaus and deserts, leading to the assessment that occupation with 50,000 troops is virtually impossible.
Meanwhile, as the possibility of U.S. ground operations grows, propaganda-style reports have been carried one after another inside Iran.
On the 26th, Iran's Tasnim news agency, citing a military source, said, "We have organized more than 1 million people for ground war, and requests are pouring in from young people who wish to participate."
In addition, media outlets aired videos of drones and missiles being launched and circulated edited footage showing what appear to be ground special forces units in training, continuing day after day what seemed like a show of force.