An Iranian army spokesperson warned on Tuesday that Iran would bomb its own territory rather than allow US forces to occupy it, as threats of a potential ground operation by either side raised fears of a broader war across the Persian Gulf.
"If America occupies our territory, we will even bomb our own territory," Brigadier General Mohammad Akrami-Nia said on Iranian state television. "This is the logic of war."
The remarks came as US Central Command marked the 10th consecutive day of strikes against Iranian targets. US President Donald Trump is expected to decide in the coming days how to proceed, with the prospect of a US ground operation or seizure of Iranian territory now openly discussed.
The Pentagon is preparing options for ground operations in Iran that would fall short of a full invasion but could involve thousands of troops and take weeks or months, the Washington Post reported, citing unnamed US officials. The White House said the Pentagon was working to give the president "maximum optionality" but that "this does not mean the president has made a decision."
Former Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, now a member of parliament, said Iran should go further than striking US bases in the region and consider capturing American soldiers.
"The US threats have intensified, and it has said that it will seize Kharg Island and take control of Iran's oil facilities," Mottaki said.
"I have been advocating for a ground war for a long time. We should seize one of the US bases in the region, capture its forces, and bring them back to our country," he added.
Iranian MP Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani, a former member of the parliamentary National Security Commission, said Tehran could launch ground attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain if the US invaded Iranian territory.
On the prospect of a US assault on Kharg Island, he said Washington might take it for a day but could not hold it.
"Iranian missiles from Semnan, Zahedan, Isfahan and elsewhere can reach it. Occupying Kharg Island would turn it into a target for Iran," Ardestani said.
Kuwait's Bubiyan Island in the crosshair?
Speculation has also grown around a possible Iranian move against Kuwait, including its Bubiyan Island.
The island, with an area of 863 square kilometres, is Kuwait's largest and sits at the northern end of the Persian Gulf close to Iraq.
Some Iranian political figures and social media accounts have considered the scenario in response to a potential US seizure of Kharg, suggesting the IRGC could use regional proxies and its Saberin special forces unit to launch a ground operation through southern Iraq if Washington moved on Iranian territory.
The Saberin unit is an elite IRGC formation with extensive combat experience across Iran and neighbouring countries. Reports of Iranian military movements toward the Kuwaiti border have circulated online but could not be independently verified.
Kuwait hosts US forces and has been among the most heavily targeted countries in the latest wave of Iranian strikes.
Earlier reports in March and May alleged that IRGC commandos had targeted Bubiyan and engaged against Kuwaiti forces.
On 1 May, six IRGC troops arrived by rented fishing boat on Bubiyan Island and were intercepted by Kuwait's security forces. Four were captured while two escaped after a firefight that wounded one Kuwaiti soldier, according to Kuwaiti authorities.
Kuwait's Interior Ministry said the men confessed to being IRGC members who had landed to carry out "hostile acts". Iran's foreign ministry rejected the allegation, saying the four officers had entered Kuwaiti waters due to a navigation system failure.
Trump said in mid-March that strikes had "obliterated" Kharg's military assets but deliberately spared its oil infrastructure.
He warned that if Tehran continued disrupting Hormuz traffic, he could reconsider that decision.
After Iranian strikes killed resulted in the deaths of US troops this week, Trump posted on Truth Social, "Every time Iran kills an American soldier, they will pay for that killing many times over."
Fifteen US service members have been killed in the war since it began in late February, according to US military figures.
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