Iran warns US would face heavy fire in any ground offensive

Iran warned Tuesday that any US ground offensive against the country would be met with heavy fire, saying invading forces would lose their technological advantage once fighting shifted to "face-to-face" combat.

Speaking to the local Radio Goftogoo, army spokesman Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Akraminia said the military has prepared detailed operational scenarios for every potential invasion route and repeatedly rehearsed them during military exercises.

"We have read the enemy's hand. We have pre-planned scenarios for every one of these areas, and we have practiced them many times in exercises," Akraminia said in his comments carried by Mehr News Agency.

"Any aggressor entering these areas will immediately come under heavy fire aimed at destroying them."

He said long-range warfare differs fundamentally from ground combat because remote operations rely mainly on advanced technology, while a ground offensive would become "face-to-face," depriving invading forces of their technological advantage due to their unfamiliarity with Iran's terrain and increasing their vulnerability.

Akraminia also said Iranian forces are motivated by religious conviction and extensive military training, contrasting them with US troops, whom he claimed fight primarily for pay and benefits.

He added that the Iranian army has completed the organization of retired personnel who volunteered for service after the latest conflict, saying around 2.5 million former conscripts and career personnel constitute a national reserve and the country's second line of defense, although there is currently no operational need to mobilize them.

The US has escalated attacks against Iran since last week, with Tehran retaliating with strikes targeting facilities and bases it says are used by the US military in several regional countries.

The exchange of fire between the US and Iran comes despite a Pakistan-brokered memorandum of understanding they signed in June to end their war and reach a lasting peace agreement.