17,000 US troops are arriving in the Gulf ahead of what could possibly be a land invasion by the Trump administration in an effort to bring the war in Iran to a speedy end.

The Trump administration has made plans to deploy an additional 10,000 ground troops to the Middle East to boost troop numbers ahead of a possible invasion of Iran, The Wall Street Journal and Axios report that will bring the total force to over 17,000 personel.

Trump is adding to the forces that are on the way to the gulf for the last two weeks. The USS Tripoli was carrying 4,000 soldiers from the US base in Okinawa and another 3,000 troops were reportedly shipped from the West Coast of the US people. The US is estimated to have a total of 50,000 troops stationed across the gulf region.

Iranian Defense Council warned last week that, "any attempt by the enemy to encroach upon Iranian coasts or islands will naturally, according to common military procedure, cause all access points and communication lines in the Persian Gulf and the coasts to be mined with various types of naval mines, including floating mines releasable from the coasts; in which case practically the entire Persian Gulf for long periods will find a status similar to the Strait of Hormuz, and this time alongside the Strait of Hormuz, the entire Persian Gulf will in practice be blocked, and the responsibility for it will be on the threatener."

Military analysts are sceptical about the US ability to take and hold much  of Iran's land. One of the options on the table is to use special forces to take control of the Kharg island that is responsible for 90% of Iran's oil exports. Another option being discussed is taking one or all of the four islands in the Strait of Hormuz as well as the strip of land on the northern shore.

However, having studied the war in Ukraine, Iran is expected to use the same tactics and swarm the invading soldiers with missiles and drones, making any territory they control a “kill-zone.” The US has not developed any effective defences against drone technology and has reportedly only just set up its first FPV drone units, after rebuffing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy offer to supply both hardware and knowhow to the US army.

On March 27 as US President Donald Trump repeated earlier claims that the US operations have, “effectively destroyed Iran's Air Force, naval capabilities, and command structure, leaving the country leaderless and its military largely inoperable.”

“Now they’re 100% dead. They have 22 mine droppers. The mine droppers, 22, all 22 are gone. So I guess they can drop mines, but they’re gonna have to take them out by a rowboat, ’cause they don’t have any boats. Their air force is dead, totally, completely dead. It’s out of business, no planes left at all. Their anti‑aircraft and communications capabilities are totally dismantled and dead. Their leaders are all dead. Other than that, I think they’re doing quite well," Trump said.

Military analysts dispute the collapse of the Iranian military. In the first days of the war the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) triggered its Decentralized Mosaic Defence doctrine (DMD) and scattered its weapons and forces, hiding them in impenetrable mountain fortresses across the country where they are impervious to the US precision air strikes dash America's main weapon in this war.

As IntelliNews reports, both Israel and the US have armed themselves for the wrong war. The IRGC is fighting an asymmetrical war making use of its superior cost-to-kill ratio in drones and missiles that US air defence missiles are proving to be increasingly unable to stop.

Numerous reports have detailed the drain on the Israel-US coalition of ammunition, especially air defence systems, that are now weeks away from being exhausted.

While the US has rejected Ukraine’s offer of help, the Gulf states have invited Zelenskiy who has been touring the region in the last days. According to Ukraine’s president over 200 Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) soldiers are already present in the Gulf and have brought interceptor drones that have already shot down “hundreds of Shahed drones,” Zelenskiy said over the weekend.

Trump needs a quick end to the war and a land invasion is one of the few options left to him.

Letter to the men

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In another sign that the White House is preparing for a land invasion, a senior US Marine Corps commander warned tens of thousands of reservists to prepare for possible mobilisation shortly before a fresh deployment of forces to the Middle East, according to a letter dated March 26.

Lieutenant General Leonard F. Anderson IV, Commander of Marine Forces Reserve and Marine Forces South, wrote a letter to 35,000 reservists ordering them to be ready for possible rapid deployment.

“Is your desert MARPAT readily available, is your gear packed and ready to pick up and move, or is it stored away in a corner of your home? Are your family’s affairs in order?” the letter stated.

He added: “This is not a theoretical exercise. Our forces are currently engaged in operations connected to Iran and are positioned to preserve stability in the Western Hemisphere. Our enemies get a vote, and a mass mobilization could become reality.”

On March 27, one day after the letter was issued, the USS Tripoli arrived in US Central Command’s area of responsibility carrying approximately 3,500 sailors and Marines, alongside F-35B fighter aircraft, attack helicopters and amphibious assault capabilities, according to official statements and reporting by CBS News.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Pentagon is weighing the dispatch of up to 10,000 more ground troops to the region, while Fox News said 1,500 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division have already deployed. The USS Boxer, carrying the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) and about 2,200 Marines, departed San Diego in mid-March on an accelerated schedule and is expected to arrive in mid-April.

Even before the mooted invasion, US casualty figures are already mounting. Task & Purpose reported that more than 200 US troops have been wounded and 13 killed since the conflict began on February 28.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on March 27 that Washington could achieve its objectives “without any ground troops”, according to CBS News and Trump has said from the start that boots on the ground were not part of the plan. But Rubio has shifted ground and added that “the president has to be prepared for multiple contingencies” and that US forces are available “to give the president maximum optionality.”

Anderson’s letter concluded with a handwritten note: “Fight’s on!”