Iran prepares for bigger fight with US and Israel, eyes Kuwait ground raid

WASHINGTON, DC: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has utilised the period of relative calm following a June memorandum of understanding with the United States to prepare for a wider confrontation, including formulating plans for pre-emptive strikes and potential operations on enemy territory, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing Iranian and Arab officials.

The military preparations encompass accelerated missile production, enhanced missile accuracy, expanded counterintelligence operations, and an enlarged role for the powerful Revolutionary Guard within Iran's military apparatus. "We took full advantage of the ceasefire period," Revolutionary Guard spokesman Brig Gen Hossein Mohebbi said in July, according to the WSJ report. "We enhanced our capabilities, accelerated our missile production rate and improved missile accuracy."

According to the report, the Revolutionary Guard utilised the period to coordinate strategy with allied militias across the region.

"The Revolutionary Guard used the calm created by the memorandum of understanding to lay the groundwork with allied militias around the region to step up attacks if needed," the WSJ reported, citing officials familiar with recent Arab intelligence findings. Iranian commanders were dispatched to Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon to discuss these operational plans, according to the report.

Furthermore, the Revolutionary Guard supervised the deployment of missiles, naval weaponry, and drone launchers overlooking the Red Sea, while providing Yemeni militants with intelligence and targeting lists focused on Saudi ports and energy facilities, the WSJ reported. Iran-backed groups subsequently executed attacks affecting Saudi energy infrastructure, while Iran expanded strikes against US military personnel and hit targets in Jordan, Kuwait, and Bahrain, according to the report.

The Revolutionary Guard has now prepared fresh options for further military escalation, according to Iranian officials and public statements cited by the WSJ.

These options include executing pre-emptive strikes, committing sabotage against undersea internet cables in the Persian Gulf, instigating political unrest in countries with Shia communities such as Kuwait and Bahrain, and potentially undertaking ground operations in Kuwait.

Kuwait has treated the possibility of ground operations seriously. In early May, the country stated that its security forces had intercepted six Revolutionary Guard personnel who had used a rented fishing vessel to land on a Kuwaiti island, according to the report. (ANI)

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