Tensions between the United States and Iran continue to rise. After a series of mutual strikes and the deaths of American soldiers in the region, Washington is considering a significant expansion of its military campaign against Tehran.
This was reported by The Washington Post, citing American officials.According to the publication, the Pentagon is preparing for larger-scale actions in the Middle East and is increasing its military presence in the region, in particular, sending additional combat aircraft.
The reason for the new escalation was the attacks that killed three American servicemen. On Friday, July 18, Iran launched a missile strike on a U.S. military base in Jordan, killing two soldiers. The next day, another American was killed in Iraq after an incident with a downed Iranian drone.
US President Donald Trump, commenting on the events, called the deaths of the soldiers "a very sad event." At the same time, he said that he was not concerned about Iran's possible withdrawal from the bilateral memorandum of understanding.
One of the interlocutors of The Washington Post noted that the United States is actually preparing for a broader military campaign. At the same time, the implementation of such plans may be complicated by limited supplies of air defense and long-range ammunition.
In addition, the American military is facing difficulties in transferring additional forces and equipment to the region due to losses and damage that some of the weapons have already suffered.
"We don't have enough resources to safely support operations, and I don't think the White House fully understands this problem," the publication quotes one of the government officials as saying.
Experts also note that the United States is not currently ready for a large-scale ground operation on Iranian territory. Despite this, Trump has not previously ruled out the possibility of such a scenario.
How the conflict escalated
In June, the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding that allowed for the extension of the ceasefire and the resumption of negotiations between the parties.
However, in early July, the situation deteriorated sharply after Iran's attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. In response, the United States launched strikes on Iranian facilities. Since then, the parties have been exchanging attacks almost daily, which raises fears of further escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.
As Ukrainian News Agency reported, the administration of US President Donald Trump has informed Israel of plans to deploy dozens of additional US tanker aircraft to the country ahead of a possible expansion of the military operation against Iran.
Earlier, Iran said that it no longer considers the memorandum of understanding with the US to be valid. This statement was made by the country's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Garibabadi after the US resumed the blockade of Iranian vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
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