Two mountain ranges, two deserts, two seas: Iran’s geography is its greatest weapon Submitted by MEE correspondent on Mon, 04/06/2026 - 12:56 As a US ground invasion looms, MEE examines potential scenarios and how Iran’s terrain could impose high costs on invading forces A satellite view of shipping traffic in and around the Strait of Hormuz on 24 March 2026 (Romain Doucelin/Hans Lucas via Reuters) On As hundreds of US troops approach the Gulf in their transport aircraft ahead of a possible invasion of Iran, they may permit themselves a glance out of the window to the terrain below. A twisting sea dotted with islands; a coastline hundreds of kilometres long lined with sharp rockfaces; and mountains that domineer over any unwanted intruder. With geography like this, it’s no wonder that military and political experts say a ground operation would come at a high cost to the United States. Iran is vast. It has two long mountain ranges, the Caspian Sea to the north, and the Sea of Oman and the Gulf to the south. Experts warn that once a ground war begins, its direction and length are hard to predict. “If you look at the history of such military attacks, you’ll see that generally once ground attacks start, they are very difficult to contain,” Arman Mahmoudian, a research fellow at the University of South Florida’s Global and National Security Institute, told Middle East Eye. Iranian experts who spoke to Middle East Eeye point to three main scenarios if a ground war begins: the occupation of Iranian islands in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, an attack on Iran’s southern coast, or an invasion through Kurdish-populated areas in western Iran. There are serious dangers and difficulties associated with every one of them. Seizure of islands and control of the Strait of Hormuz More than Iranian missile and drone attacks, what has put real pressure on President Donald Trump and his Department of War is the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Before the