WASHINGTON, March 16. /TASS/. A full-scale US invasion of Iran is practically impossible, but the option of a limited use of American ground forces should not be discounted, Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, has told TASS.

In his assessment, the mounting negative economic consequences of the new armed conflict unleashed in the Middle East by the US and Israel will simply prevent Washington from launching a major ground invasion of Iran. Furthermore, the United States is not capable of conducting an operation against Iran for more than a few weeks, the expert says: "I don't believe a ground invasion is inevitable for the simple reason that it would take months to prepare for such an incursion, and Trump cannot sustain this war for more than a few weeks. The economic realities of this war will catch up with him before he can launch such an invasion."

"However, he (the American leader - TASS) might choose to use ground forces inside Iran short of an actual invasion, but it is unclear what he could achieve with such measures."

Parsi is a native of Iran. He studied international relations and economics at universities in Sweden before moving to the United States, where he received a doctorate from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C. He is known in the United States as one of the most prominent experts on relations with Iran.

The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were hit. The White House justified the attack by citing alleged missile and nuclear threats from Iran. At the same time, US leaders openly called on the Iranian population to rise up against their own government and seize power. The strikes killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several other key figures in the leadership. Iran launched retaliatory operations against Israel and US targets in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.