Iran on Sunday warned it will respond decisively amid rising speculation that the United States may escalate the conflict into ground operations.
As the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict entered its 30th day on Sunday, Israel and Iran were still exchanging fresh attacks.
Footage captured in the Iranian capital, Tehran, showed air defense systems intercepting objects in the night sky on Sunday. According to a China Media Group (CMG) reporter in Tehran, the city's air defense systems have remained active since around 19:37 local time, attempting to intercept incoming targets.
The Washington Post reported on Saturday that the Pentagon is preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran, as thousands of U.S. soldiers and Marines arrive in the Middle East.
The report, citing anonymous sources, said that if U.S. President Donald Trump chooses to escalate, the potential ground operation will fall short of a full-scale invasion and could instead involve raids by a mixture of Special Operations forces and conventional infantry troops.
Such a mission could expose U.S. 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 escalate it.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that the Pentagon was considering deploying up to 10,000 additional ground troops to the Middle East to give U.S. President Donald Trump more military options beyond diplomacy.
The force, likely to include infantry and armored vehicles, would be added to the roughly 5,000 Marines and thousands of paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division already ordered to the region, said the report, citing Department of Defense officials.
In response to U.S. threats of ground operations, Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman for Iran's main military command Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said Sunday in a statement that the country's armed forces are ready to respond decisively if the threats materialize.
Iran warns of decisive response to potential U.S. ground operations
China launched the first direct flight route linking Beijing and the Finnish capital, Helsinki, at the Daxing International Airport on Sunday, marking the opening of a new air corridor between China and the Nordic region.
Operated by China Southern Airlines, the route will provide round-trip flights between the two capital cities three times per week, with services scaling up to daily operations in June.
"Since the opening of the new flight, passengers from 50 cities in China can travel conveniently from the Daxing International Airport to Finland and transfer to other locations in Europe. It will build an efficient and convenient air bridge for economic and trade cooperation, people-to-people exchanges and tourism collaboration between China and Finland, as well as between China and other Nordic countries," said Gu Mengjun, deputy general manager of the North China Marketing Center of China Southern Airlines Marketing Committee.
"[It] usually took me 12 hours to get to Beijing. Now. it's much shorter, and it's super convenient," said a traveler.
China has been Finland's largest trading partner in Asia for decades, while Finland ranks as China's third-largest trading partner in the Nordic region. Last year, bilateral trade reached 8.26 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 60 million U.S. dollars compared with the previous year.
"This is a great day of all of us. It will be connecting the capital of China to the northern Europe. It will help both ways, you will see more north Europeans coming to Beijing area. And at the same time, you will see people from north of China coming more to the north of Europe," said Petri Vuori, senior vice president of Finavia.
Sunday marks the start of the summer-autumn flight schedule for Chinese airlines, with major carriers adjusting and launching new domestic and international routes. The new flight season will run through October.
In addition to China Southern Airlines, Air China will resume a direct route from Beijing to India’s Delhi, while China Eastern Airlines plans to launch new services linking Shanghai with Tashkent, as well as Xi’an with Vienna.
According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, more than 20,000 international flights will be operated each week during the new flight season, marking a 1.8 percent increase year on year. Experts say the expansion of the international flight network highlights China's continued commitment to high-level opening-up.
China launches direct flight route linking Beijing, Helsinki
