Pentagon Prepares for 'Weeks' of Ground Operations in Iran as IRGC Threatens Retaliation Against US Universities

The Pentagon is actively preparing for a potential ground campaign in Iran that could last for weeks, according to U.S. officials cited in a new report. This military planning, which includes the initial arrival of Marines in the region, unfolds even as U.S. diplomats publicly pursue a ceasefire. The stark divergence between military preparation and diplomatic engagement signals a critical escalation in the shadow war between Washington and Tehran, with Iran's de facto wartime leader, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, accusing the U.S. of plotting an attack.

The immediate trigger for this heightened state of alert is a series of tit-for-tat strikes. Following attacks on two Iranian university campuses, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has issued a direct warning, threatening retaliatory strikes on American university campuses across the Middle East. The conflict's physical toll is already severe; imagery reportedly shows a U.S. AWACS surveillance jet 'obliterated' at a Saudi airbase, indicating the scale and precision of recent Iranian counterstrikes.

This creates a volatile multi-front crisis. While foreign ministers from regional nations are scheduled to meet in Pakistan this Sunday to seek a diplomatic off-ramp, the parallel tracks of military buildup and covert strikes risk overtaking peace efforts. The IRGC's threat against soft civilian targets like universities marks a dangerous expansion of the conflict's boundaries, raising the risk of a rapid, uncontrollable regional escalation that could draw in multiple state and non-state actors.