SHANGHAI, March 30. /Correspondent. TASS Andrey Popov/. —- A full-scale U.S. ground operation in Iran would be a catastrophic strategic mistake, similar to the Vietnam War (1955-1975). This opinion was expressed to TASS by Jin Canrong, professor of Americanism at Renmin University of China.

“If they were to launch a full-scale ground operation, it would be a disaster for the United States,” the expert said. “10,000 U.S. troops simply won’t be able to accomplish the task, and if they deployed hundreds of thousands, they’d be stuck in a quagmire like the Vietnam War for a long time.” Jin Canrong believes that the likelihood of a full-scale military ground offensive is extremely small. The troop redeployment is, for the most part, a political gesture to pressure Iran to make concessions, the professor said.

Trump says could take Iran’s Kharg Island ‘very easily’

According to the expert, the United States has additionally deployed about 10 thousand troops to the Middle East. “Even if they acted recklessly and launched a ground operation, such as the capture of Kharg Island or others, it would be very difficult to hold them,” Jin Canrong stressed. “It is easy to attack and capture them, but it is extremely difficult to hold them.” “That would be an absolute strategic mistake, because 10,000 troops simply will not be able to achieve the necessary results,” he added.

The professor pointed out that Iran’s air and naval forces are not comparable to those of the United States, but the Islamic Republic has combat-ready ground and missile forces. “Iran is a large country, more than 1.6 million square kilometers, with a population of about 91 million people, and its army is quite strong,” Jin Canrong said.

Earlier, the Politico newspaper reported, citing sources, that some high-ranking US officials are convinced that control over the course of the military operation against Iran has been lost. According to her, the president’s entourage believes that a ground operation may be the only way to achieve victory.

On February 28, the United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran. The largest Iranian cities, including Tehran, came under attack. The White House justified the attack with missile and nuclear threats allegedly emanating from Tehran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a large-scale retaliatory operation, attacking targets in Israel. US facilities in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE and Saudi Arabia were also hit. As a result of strikes on Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and some other key figures in the leadership of the Islamic Republic were killed.