The Pentagon is preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran, as thousands of US soldiers and Marines arrive in the Middle East, The Washington Post reported on Saturday. 

Any potential ground operation would fall short of a full-scale invasion and could instead involve raids by a mixture of Special Operations forces and conventional infantry troops, the newspaper quoted officials as saying on the condition of anonymity.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Saturday an amphibious task force of about 3,500 Marines and sailors has arrived in the region. The force is led by the USS Tripoli and includes aircraft and amphibious assault capabilities.

Such a mission could expose US personnel to an array of threats, including Iranian drones and missiles, ground fire and improvised explosives, the report noted, adding that the Trump administration in recent days has vacillated between declaring that the war is winding down and threatening to amplify it.

US and Israeli universities will become legitimate targets

Following air strikes on the Iran University of Science and Technology in Tehran, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a statement declaring that all US and Israeli universities in the Middle East are now "legitimate targets," the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. The group stated these sites would remain targets until two universities are struck in retaliation for the destroyed Iranian facilities.

Israel will strike on all vital components of Iran's military industry

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Effie Defrin said in a live broadcast update that the Israeli military is days away from completing the strikes on all vital components of Iran's military industry.

"This means that we will destroy most of Iran's military production capabilities, and it will take the Iranian regime a long time to restore them," Defrin added.

"We continue to act according to a plan, with a systematic and extensive attack that is prepared in advance and constantly adapted to the situation," he noted. "We have an opportunity to fundamentally change the situation."

Israel's main opposition leader, Yair Lapid, has warned that the war with Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon is taking too high a toll and accused the government of steering the country towards a "security disaster." The military "is stretched to the limit and beyond," Lapid said late on Thursday in a video address, echoing a warning delivered a day earlier by military chief Eyal Zamir, according to leaked remarks from a security cabinet meeting.

Iran targets US-linked aluminium plants in the UAE and Bahrain

Aluminium Bahrain, also known as Alba, confirmed early Sunday that its facilities were targeted in an Iranian attack a day earlier, Bahrain's state ‌news agency reported. Alba said two people were mildly injured in the attack, adding that it was assessing damage of the facilities.

This development comes after the IRGC, in a statement, claimed responsibility for targeting key industrial facilities in the region on Saturday, including aluminum plants in the UAE and Bahrain, as reported by Iranian state media. In the statement, the IRGC said its aerospace and naval forces carried out a "combined and targeted operation" using missiles and drones against what it described as industries linked to the US military and aerospace sector.

Iran continues to strike back

The IRGC claimed on Saturday its air defense has struck a US F-16 plane and an MQ-9 Reaper drone in the country's southern airspace.

Announcing in a statement on its official news outlet Sepah News, the IRGC said the US fighter jet and drone were hit during joint retaliatory missile and drone operations by its Navy and Aerospace Division against heavy industries belonging to the United States and Israel.

It added that CENTCOM has also confessed that its F-16 was targeted.

"A US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon lands at a base in the Middle East after a combat flight in support of Operation Epic Fury," CENTCOM said in a post on X.

Tensions have escalated since late February, following joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran, with Tehran and its regional allies responding through attacks on US and Israeli interests across the Middle East.

(With input from agencies)