Is Iran Planning Ground Invasion of Kuwait as US Widens War? | Vantage on Firstpost | 4K

The United States has bombed Iran for the ninth consecutive day. We have nine nights, nine rounds of airstrikes and one question. What exactly is the endgame? The latest American strikes targeted Iranian military command centers, air defense and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, and missile and drone launch sites to further diminish Iran's ability to attack commercial vessels as well as civilian mariners transiting straight to Hormuz. Now, according to Tehran, America's latest strikes also crossed a red line. One of the strikes hit the under-construction Dakovan nuclear power plant. It is located in the Khuzestan province of southwestern Iran. Iran called it an attack on civilian infrastructure, a violation of international law. The International Atomic Energy Agency says there was no nuclear material at the site. The US airstrikes also hit several locations in Iran's southern port city of Bushehr, home to the country's only civilian nuclear plant. Tehran's response came quickly. And as we have been seeing since the war started, the Gulf states came under fire. Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, all were hit with drones and missiles. The US embassy in Bahrain's capital warned Americans to stay alert. At the same time, American casualties are mounting. A third US service member has died in Iraq. The Trump administration also identified two soldiers who were killed in Jordan while defending against Iranian missiles. Now as the conflict turns deadly again for the US military, with as many as 17 dead so far, where Trump will take the fight now is not clear. Reports are circulating about a possible ground invasion of Iran. But a senior Iranian official has now claimed that Tehran has been preparing and in fact even welcoming a US ground invasion. The official also boasted that Tehran had just launched a new missile while decentralizing and burying its arsenal deep underground to withstand sustained American air campaigns. And apparently Tehran has a game plan. If this happens, what is it? A possible ground invasion of Kuwait. A prominent Iranian academic recently identified Kuwait as one of Tehran's principal options for a ground incursion. The plan also reportedly includes physical seizure of two American military installations on Kuwaiti soil and even taking American troops hostage. He specifically identified Canberra and Arifjan or Ali Al Salem airbase as potential targets. If such a plan were ever carried out, it would transform Kuwait from a US partner hosting military forces into the front line of a much wider regional conflict. Of course, dramatically raising the stakes across the Persian Gulf. The proposal also invokes memories of the 1979 US embassy hostage crisis in Tehran. It began when radical Iranian students held 52 Americans captive for 444 days to demand the return of the exiled Shah for trial. Analysts suggest that the seizure of American personnel could be viewed as a means of exerting political pressure rather than simply achieving a military objective. And the rhetoric coming out of Iran has grown even more confrontational. As military action escalates, Tehran has also turned into symbolic warfare, displaying Donald Trump in a coffin. One of the most striking developments has been the silence of mediators Pakistan and Qatar. Both of which had brokered the June talks between both sides in Switzerland. They've largely disappeared from public view. According to Iranian media, the last known visit by a Qatari delegation to Tehran was on the 10th of July. Yet, the diplomatic channels may not be completely closed. Proposals have been put forward by mediators. They have been conveyed to us and we have received them. But for now, allow me not to go into the details. What I can confirm is that in recent days, the diplomatic apparatus has remained active and that ideas have indeed been conveyed to us by several mediators. As more American troops are killed and the war spirals back towards full-scale conflict, one question refuses to go away. What exactly is Donald Trump's endgame? 21 weeks into this war, the answer remains as elusive as ever. From the very beginning, the administration has had a hard time trying to explain what victory will actually look like. Now, Washington appears to be replaying the same strategy only with higher stakes and a higher price tag. The immediate trigger is clear. Iran's grip over the Strait of Hormuz has become an economic and political nightmare for the White House. Rising shipping costs, nervous energy markets and the threat of another oil shock. These are exactly the kind of headlines President Trump does not want. Oil prices are nearing $90 a barrel. But what remains unclear is why repeating the same military approach is expected to somehow produce a different outcome. Trump once again argued that he agreed to a ceasefire because he had no interest in becoming the next Herbert Hoover, the president forever associated with the economic collapse of 1929, the Great Depression. Yet with oil markets on edge, shipping lanes under pressure and military operations expanding once again, the White House risks discovering that history actually has a habit of ignoring campaign slogans. You can't tariff your way out of a history book. And the global economy certainly does not run on truth social posts. So here's Trump's dilemma. If he stops bombing, Iran claims victory. If he keeps bombing, the war expands. If he launches a ground invasion, he walks straight into the scenario Tehran says it has spent decades preparing for. If he doesn't, Iran retains its ability to threaten the strait. For Trump, there are no good options, only bad and less bad options. And perhaps that's the real reason behind Trump's latest strategy. Escalate now, figure out the exit later. Mr. President, after warning America about forever wars, now faces the ultimate political irony, trying to escape the very trap he promised to avoid. The world doesn't fit in boxes, so why should your news from battlefields to negotiation tables, from Internet outrage to real world injustice? The conversations everyone is having and the ones they're avoiding. It's the same show, but this new year, First Post America gets a new look. I'm Kerry Johnston, and this is First Post America.