U.S. Appears To Have Dropped Anti Tank Mines In Southern Iran As Pentagon Considers Sending 10,000 Additional Troops To The Region

The U.S. appears to have dropped anti-tank mines over a village in southern Iran, according to open source research group Bellingcat. Concretely, the mines appear to be U.S. BLU-91/B scatterable mines.

The group added that the U.S. is the only party in the war known to have Gator Scatterable Mines, the system distributing the explosive devices.

Iranian state media also reported on the development, calling on civilians to report their location and not touch them, as some had exploded after being handled, killing several people.

The development comes as the White House and the Pentagon are weighing whether to send at least 10,000 additional troops to the Middle East, another sign that a ground operation could take place in the country.

Citing a defense official, Axios noted that the decision is expected to take next week. Should troops be effectively sent, they would be called from different combat units already in the region.

The outlet went on to say that the Pentagon is developing options for an operation that could inflict the "final blow" on Iran. Trump has not made a decision but he could escalate if talks with Tehran don't yield clear results.

There are conflicting reports about the president's assessment of the war. MS NOW, in turn, claimed on Friday that Trump is "getting a little bored with Iran" and "wants to move on" to other issues.

White House officials described frustration about the contradiction, calling it confusing and inconsistent. "He's just bored and wants to move on," an official told the outlet.

Another one claimed that the president has started shifting conversations to domestic issues, including the economy and the upcoming midterm elections.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump has also told advisers he believes the war with Iran is in its "final stages," describing it as a distraction from domestic priorities.

Nearly a month into the conflict, Trump has urged aides to adhere to a four-to-six-week timeline he has outlined publicly, with the expectation that the war could conclude before a planned mid-May summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.