NEW YORK -- The Pentagon is preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran, as thousands of US soldiers and Marines arrive in the Middle East for what could become a dangerous new phase of the war should US President Donald Trump choose to escalate, 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.

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 the Trump administration in recent days has vacillated between declaring that the war is winding down and threatening to amplify it.

Discussions within the US administration over the past month have touched upon the possible seizure of Kharg Island, a key Iranian oil export hub in the Persian Gulf, and raids into other coastal areas near the Strait of Hormuz to locate and destroy weapons capable of targeting commercial and military shipping, said officials.

They added that in the past month, 13 US troops have been killed in action, including six in a plane crash in Iraq, six in a drone attack on Port Shuaiba in Kuwait, and one in an attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. More than 300 service members have been wounded by Iranian drones and missiles in retaliatory attacks targeting US facilities in at least seven countries across the Middle East, with at least 10 sustaining serious injuries.

According to The Post, recent polls indicate strong public resistance in the United States to sending combat troops in Iran. A survey conducted by the Associated Press and the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago found that 62 percent of respondents were strongly opposed to deploying ground forces, while only 12 percent were in favor.