On the night of the 22nd (local time), U.S. forces struck military facilities in southern Iran, extending airstrikes for a 12th straight day. Major foreign media and military experts assessed the strikes as preparatory work to remove obstacles ahead of limited ground operations such as raids on missile bases on Qeshm Island and Greater Tunb Island, the seizure of Kharg Island, and the recovery of nuclear material, rather than a full-scale invasion of Iran.
On the night of the 22nd, U.S. Central Command said it launched airstrikes for a 12th day in a row, following the previous day. U.S. Central Command said the strikes targeted Iranian military operational command posts, naval assets, aircraft hangars, drone storage facilities, and logistics infrastructure. Earlier, U.S. forces also attacked navy and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps facilities around Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island, the Chabahar maritime watchtower, and bridges and railways in Hormozgan Province. U.S. Central Command said, "Iran has attacked more than 30 merchant ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz over the past three months," adding, "We will continue to degrade Iran's ability to threaten merchant vessels."
Reuters, citing anonymous senior U.S. officials, reported that some recent targets were facilities to be eliminated "ahead of more complex operations." U.S. President Trump also wrote on Truth Social on the 22nd, "From now on, every time Iran fires on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the United States will bomb and destroy a bridge or a power plant." President Trump has not ruled out the possibility of ground operations deploying troops to Iran's coast or islands.
According to Axios and the Washington Post (WP), the U.S. Department of Defense has reviewed plans for limited ground operations for more than three months. WP reported that U.S. forces have prepared options such as raids on Iran's coast deploying special operations forces alongside conventional infantry, the seizure of Kharg Island, a hub for crude oil exports, the destruction of coastal missile, mine, and Revolutionary Guard facilities, and the securing of remaining nuclear material in underground facilities.
Experts said the recent U.S. airstrikes, now in their 12th day, are initial operations in which fighter jets first destroy radars and air defenses and naval vessels block reinforcement routes to open landing corridors. Fighter jets and missiles can destroy radars, command posts, missile launchers, and ammunition depots located on key islands. However, airstrikes alone cannot search underground facilities, subdue remaining Iranian forces, or control ports and airfields. To seize the islands, Marines or special operations forces must land directly, drive out Iranian forces, clear mines, and then secure ports and communications facilities.
Military experts said each island has different operational value, so the objectives—such as nuclear capabilities and oil—would vary depending on which island the Trump administration seizes first. If U.S. forces take Qeshm Island north of the Strait of Hormuz and Greater Tunb Island near the shipping lanes, they can eliminate Iranian coastal surveillance and anti-ship missile and drone bases, reducing ship-tracking and attack capabilities. By contrast, Kharg Island in the northern Persian Gulf is a key terminal responsible for Iran's crude oil exports, so seizing it would be aimed more at blocking oil exports and increasing negotiating pressure than opening the strait.
If the Trump administration is to actually curb Iran's nuclear capabilities, it must first bomb the area to destroy tunnel entrances to underground nuclear facilities and power and ventilation systems. After that, to find and remove remaining nuclear material or eliminate it on site, special operations forces and nuclear and chemical handling teams ultimately have to enter the underground facilities directly. Rebecca Heinrichs, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, said in an Iran International interview, "If President Trump chooses an option that includes even some U.S. ground forces, the likely objective is to remove the nuclear material remaining inside Iran," adding, "A large-scale invasion is unlikely."
According to U.S. Central Command, U.S. troop strength in the Middle East currently stands at just over 50,000. Military experts said most of them are fighter jet pilots and maintenance personnel, ship crews, missile defense units, and intelligence, logistics, and medical support personnel. They said that if U.S. forces are to advance on major Iranian cities, they would need to expand additional combat units, armored vehicles, artillery, and large-scale transport and supply systems beyond current levels before the operation. Dana Stroul, who served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East under the Joe Biden administration, told the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), "The Trump administration has used the additional troops for actual military action each time it has increased force levels."
Jason H. Campbell, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, said in an AP interview, "There are few scenarios in which the Strait of Hormuz can be secured satisfactorily without ground forces," adding, "Removing concealed Iranian weapons and securing hundreds of kilometers of coastline and interior would require tens of thousands of troops and months of advance preparation." Campbell said that once U.S. forces land, they would be continuously exposed to attacks by resistance elements, and that assembling a force of that size alone would take months.
Michael Eisenstadt, director of the military and security studies program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, also said in the same interview, "If troops are landed to destroy cruise missile and drone launch sites, U.S. losses may increase, and if escort operations are conducted in parallel, losses could rise further."