The United States military on Saturday said that 3,500 more marines and sailors have arrived in West Asia amid the conflict.

This came as The Washington Post reported on Saturday, quoting unidentified officials, that the US Department of War is preparing for “weeks of ground operations” in Iran.

Here are more top updates from the conflict in West Asia:

  • The US marines and sailors arrived in the US Central Command area of responsibility on board USS Tripoli. “The America-class amphibious assault ship serves as the flagship for the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group/31st Marine Expeditionary Unit composed of about 3,500 Sailors and Marines in addition to transport and strike fighter aircraft, as well as amphibious assault and tactical assets,” the US military said.
  • Possible US ground operations would not amount to a full-scale invasion and could instead involve raids by infantry soldiers or special forces, The Washington Post quoted the unidentified officials as saying on Saturday. In response to the report, the White House said that the Pentagon prepares to give the president “maximum optionality” and it does not mean that a decision about ground operations has been made.
  • Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Sunday accused the US of plotting a ground attack despite talking about diplomacy, after a US warship with around 3,500 military personnel arrived in West Asia, AFP reported. Ghalibaf’s comments came ahead of talks between key regional players on Monday.
  • US President Donald Trump has in recent days indicated an interest in ending the conflict, but has also threatened to broaden the scope of attacks on Iran.
  • Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday met his counterparts from Egypt and Turkey in Islamabad ahead of a quadrilateral summit, which also includes Saudi Arabia, to discuss the ongoing conflict in West Asia and efforts to negotiate peace in the region, PTI reported.
  • Two more Indian-flagged liquefied petroleum gas tankers, carrying roughly a day’s supply of the country’s cooking gas, have safely navigated through the war-hit Strait of Hormuz and are expected to reach Indian shores in the next couple of days, PTI reported on Sunday. “Two LPG carriers, BW TYR and BW ELM, carrying a combined LPG cargo of about 94,000 tonnes, have safely transited the region and are moving towards Indian shores,” the news agency quoted an official statement as saying.
  • In a social media post on Friday, Dar said that Iran has agreed to allow 20 more Pakistani-flagged vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz and that “two ships will cross the strait daily”. It was reposted by Trump on social media platform Truth Social.
  • Three journalists were killed in southern Lebanon on Saturday in an Israeli strike, Al Jazeera reported. A clearly marked press vehicle was attacked, killing Fatima Ftouni and her brother and colleague, Mohammed, of Al Mayadeen and Al-Manar’s Ali Shuaib, according to reports. Others were injured in the attack.
  • The Israeli Defense Forces claimed that Shuaib was a member of the Iran-backed and Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah “who operated for years under the guise of a journalist”. He had “exposed IDF troop positions in southern Lebanon and maintained direct contact with Hezbollah operatives”, the Israeli military alleged.
  • Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos said the killing of the journalists “constitutes a deliberate and blatant war crime against the media and the mission of journalism”, The Guardian reported.
  • The World ⁠Health ⁠Organization said on Saturday that nine paramedics had been killed in five attacks on healthcare facilities in Lebanon.

The conflict

The US and Israel launched an attack on Iran on February 28, claiming that Tehran’s action posed an existential threat to Israel. Washington acts as a guarantor of Israel’s security. Iran has retaliated by striking Israel and US military bases in the region and targeting major cities in Gulf countries.

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Tehran has also effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterbody connecting the Gulf to the Arabian Sea, for most international commercial vessels, triggering a global energy crisis. About 20% of global petroleum supply passes through the maritime chokepoint.

Israel has been claiming that Iran is close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, which could alter the regional security balance. Tehran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.