Iran may be weighing a ground assault on American military installations in Kuwait, with the possibility of taking US troops hostage, if Washington does not halt its ongoing air campaign against Tehran.
Multiple reports claimed the development on Monday, citing remarks from an Iranian analyst and a former foreign minister.
Kuwait hosts a significant American military presence, including Camp Buehring, Camp Arifjan and Ali Al Salem Air Base, all of which have already been targeted in repeated Iranian missile and drone strikes since the war broke out in late February.
According to the reports, these two bases are now being discussed within Iran as potential targets for a land operation rather than aerial strikes alone.
Iranian analyst Mahdi Khanalizadeh was cited as saying such an operation could involve capturing "100 US soldiers hostage," who would then be moved into Iranian territory.
He was further quoted warning that Gulf capitals, not Tehran, ought to brace for the consequences of continued conflict: "the city that should be evacuated is not Tehran; it is Doha, Manama, Abu Dhabi, and Kuwait."
He added that continued American strikes could trigger a much wider war, warning "a flood of American blood will flow in the region" and that Iran would recognise "no political border" as safe if it moved to a "full-scale offensive."
Separately, former Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who now serves in Iran's parliament, reportedly floated the idea of a ground assault on a US base as a way to seize American personnel and bring them back to Iran.
The reports also cited warnings that any country assisting the US in a ground invasion of Iran would be treated as effectively declaring war on Tehran, with Iran's Land Force said to be prepared to retaliate against any state that takes part.
It is worth noting that these statements come from individual Iranian commentators and a former official rather than a confirmed government or military directive, and no formal decision by Tehran to launch a ground operation has been officially announced.
