The Pentagon is ⁠preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran, the ⁠Washington ⁠Post reported on Saturday, citing ⁠US ⁠officials.

Whether President Donald Trump would approve ⁠plans for deploying ground troops remains uncertain, the Post reported.

The war, launched on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran, has spread across the Middle East, killing thousands and hitting the world economy with the biggest-ever disruption to global energy supplies.

On Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US could achieve its aims without ground troops.

But he acknowledged it was deploying some to the region so Trump would have "maximum" flexibility to adjust strategy.

The Pentagon was also expected to deploy thousands of soldiers from the US Army's 82nd Airborne Division.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian spoke to Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose government hosts a meeting with the Turkish and Saudi foreign ministers on Sunday to seek to ease regional tensions.

Fears of a widening conflict also grew as Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels joined the month-old Middle East war, claiming two missile attacks on Israel that raised concern on Sunday about the war spreading to the Red Sea.

The involvement of Houthi rebels has added a new complexity to a conflict that has already impacted a wide swathe of the Middle East.

During Israel's recent war in Gaza, the Houthis, claiming solidarity with Palestinians, attacked shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, forcing companies to take costly detours.

Until Saturday, they had sat out the latest conflict, even as the Red Sea grew more vital.

A Houthi spokesman on Saturday said the group fired "a barrage of cruise missiles and drones targeting several vital and military sites" in Israel.

Since the launch of hostilities, Saudi Arabia has rerouted much of its oil exports via the Red Sea to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran says it has closed to shipping from hostile powers. (Agencies)


Edited by Tony Sabine