Iran claims the threat of a US invasion has prompted many young people to join the military [Getty]
Iran says more than a million troops and fighters have been mobilised to counter a possible US ground invasion, claiming that masses of people have come forward requesting to take part in defending the country
Iranian authorities claimed that the possibility of the US launching a ground offensive, prompted “a wave of enthusiasm” among the population to create what it calls a “historic hell for American forces”.
In a report by the Tasnim news agency on Thursday, a “well-informed military source” said that more than a million people had organised to participate in the fighting, in addition to a “huge influx” over the past few days of requests by young Iranians to join the Revolutionary Guards.
In a separate report on Iran’s ISNA news agency, the commander of Iran’s ground forces Brigadier General Ali Jahanshahi warned that “the ground war will be more dangerous and costly for the enemy”, adding that “all the enemy’s movements on the border are monitored, and we are ready for any scenario”.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly ordered Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, threatening to strike the country’s energy infrastructure and conduct a ground operation if maritime traffic through the key waterway does not resume in full.
“The US wants to open the Strait of Hormuz with suicide and self-destructive tactics; that’s fine”, the military source told Tasnim in response. “We are ready for both their suicide strategy to be executed and for the Strait to remain closed”.
On Monday, Trump claimed that talks were ongoing between Tehran and Washington, saying he would give Iran five additional days to reopen the Strait before making a decision on his next move.
Despite this, US military deployment to the region has continued, with reports suggesting that the US is preparing to deploy some 1,000 troops to the Middle East in the coming days.
The US currently has about 50,000 troops in the region.
Analysts have pointed to Iran’s Kharg Island, the centrepiece to Iran’s oil industry, as the possible location of a hypothetical ground invasion by the United States.
Iranian authorities have denied Trump’s comments that talks between the two countries were ongoing, accusing the US administration of putting forward the idea of a negotiation “to buy time to prepare for new action in southern Iran through a ground invasion”, Tasnim reported.
