Israel braces for weeks of Iran strikes, no ground troops

The Israeli army has prepared for military action against Iran, which could last several weeks. This was announced on Tuesday by army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Nadav Shoshani during an online briefing. According to him, a general timeframe of several weeks has been planned, with the specific duration of the operation depending on how the situation develops. He described the course of events so far as positive.

When asked whether Israel could deploy ground forces in Iran, he replied that this was unlikely. ‘I do not think that is very likely for Israeli forces at this point. I do not know about that at the moment,’ the lieutenant-colonel said.

Israel and the United States have been conducting extensive air strikes on Iran since Saturday, saying they aim to degrade Tehran’s missile and naval capabilities, prevent the further development of nuclear and ballistic threats and blunt what they describe as imminent danger, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory missile and drone attacks across the Middle East.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that the war between the US, Israel and Iran could last for some time, but, according to him, it would not be a conflict that drags on for years. US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth expressed a similar view.

(reuters, max)