What is the future of the Middle East? Vans says the U.S. has no intention of staying in Iran, but the Gulf situation is becoming more and more complicated.

U.S.-Israel military operations against Iran have lasted for a month. According to reports from CCTV News and other media, U.S. Vice President JD Vance recently stated that the U.S. has no intention of remaining in Iran and will withdraw quickly once current issues are resolved.

He emphasized in a recent interview regarding the Iranian issue that the scale and duration of this military operation are limited.

“The President has made it very clear that we do not want to stay in Iran for a year or two,” Vance said: “The U.S. is just dealing with the situation, and once military objectives are achieved, we will withdraw. We will leave there soon.”

His commitment directly addresses concerns about the expansion of military operations or a prolonged occupation. Vance pointed out that the focus of the Trump administration is to achieve military objectives, including weakening the Iranian government and preventing its development of nuclear weapons, after which they will withdraw. Vance stressed that the goal is to avoid such actions in the foreseeable future.

“The reason military actions have not yet ended is that President Trump wants to ensure that Iran completely loses its ability to threaten the United States,” he added.

Regarding the current rise in domestic oil prices in the U.S., Vance stated that this is an extremely brief market reaction to the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict, and oil prices will drop after the U.S. withdraws from Iran.

As the U.S. Vice President made these remarks, the U.S.-Israel war against Iran continues to draw international attention. This conflict has resulted in at least 1,750 deaths in Iran, including former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and Iran subsequently launched drone and missile attacks in retaliation.

However, Vance insists that this mission is a temporary operation, which is starkly different from past U.S. military operations in the Middle East, indicating that the U.S. intends to avoid getting mired in a protracted military quagmire again.

On the other hand, according to CCTV News, Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Dar stated on Sunday (29th) that Pakistani leaders have been in communication with U.S. leaders regarding a peaceful resolution to the conflict, and both the U.S. and Iran have expressed confidence in Pakistan’s role in facilitating negotiations.

The statement reported the outcomes of a meeting among the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia that day. The statement said that Dar briefly introduced the prospects for U.S.-Iran negotiations to be held in Islamabad, with the foreign ministers present expressing full support. The four countries decided to establish a committee composed of the foreign ministers to negotiate a specific plan to resolve the conflict.

“Pakistan would be honored to host and facilitate meaningful talks between both sides in the coming days, aiming for a comprehensive and lasting resolution to the current conflict,” Dar wrote.

The situation is becoming increasingly murky.

However, the situation is far from optimistic. It has been reported that Trump is considering deploying U.S. ground troops to the conflict area. Media sources citing informed officials reported that the U.S. Department of Defense is preparing for several weeks of ground operations in Iran, while thousands of U.S. Army soldiers and Marines are steadily arriving in the Middle East.

These anonymous officials claimed that any potential ground operations would not constitute a “full-scale invasion,” but would more likely take the form of raids carried out by a mix of special operations forces and conventional infantry units. It remains unclear whether Trump will approve these operations.

Iranian Islamic Shura Council Speaker Ghalibaf responded by stating that the Iranian military is “waiting” for U.S. troops to enter the ground battlefield, while accusing the U.S. of discussing negotiations while “secretly planning a ground invasion.”

“The enemy publicly sends messages of negotiation while secretly plotting a ground invasion—unaware that our warriors are waiting for U.S. troops to enter the ground. As soon as they step in, we will launch a devastating strike against them and permanently punish their allies in the region,” he warned.

Meanwhile, the Houthi armed group in Yemen also got involved over the past weekend. The Houthis confirmed earlier on the 28th that they had “for the first time used powerful ballistic missiles” to strike sensitive military targets in Israel to support Iran and the regional “resistance front.” Later that evening, the group announced a second round of attacks using cruise missiles and drones against key targets in southern Israel.

How this “chaotic battle” will develop remains uncertain…

(Source: Caixin)