Iran Prepares for Wider Conflict Including Preemptive Strikes and Ground Operations

Iran is using the ceasefire period following a memorandum of understanding with the US to prepare for a broader conflict, according to Iranian and Arab intelligence sources cited by the Wall Street Journal on Monday night. Tehran is considering options such as preemptive attacks, disrupting internet cables in the Gulf, destabilizing Kuwait and Bahrain, and even ground operations in Kuwait. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has increased missile and drone production, strengthened control over the military, and updated militias in Iraq and Yemen on plans to escalate the war. An insider close to the regime stated that there is a prevailing belief in Iran that "the main war has not yet begun."

Meanwhile, Reuters reported a near halt in ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend due to attacks on container ships, with only five vessels passing on Saturday and none on Sunday, compared to 31 the previous weekend and over 130 daily before the conflict.

Concurrently, Israel's Shin Bet and National Cyber Directorate warned of a new wave of Iranian intelligence attempts to target Israeli journalists and media personnel through sophisticated phishing attacks. These attempts involve impersonating known journalists via messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram to establish trust and lure targets into clicking malicious links that could compromise their devices. The goal is to gather sensitive information for terrorism, espionage, and intelligence purposes. The agencies stressed heightened vigilance for all individuals involved in political, public, governmental, and security activities and confirmed ongoing efforts to detect and thwart these operations.