In a press conference on Air Force One, a reporter questioned President Trump regarding the possibility of sending U.S. ground troops to Iran.
“What are the circumstances you would send in ground troops? How are you thinking about that?” the reporter asked.
“I don’t even want to talk about it now. I don’t think it’s an appropriate question. You know I’m not going to answer it. Could there be? Possibly for very good reasons. It would have to be a very good reason,” Trump responded.
“And I would say if we ever did that, they would be so decimated that they wouldn’t be able to fight at the ground level,” he added.
Trump also indicated that U.S. forces could be deployed to secure Iranian nuclear material.
“We haven’t talked about it. But it was a total obliteration. They haven’t been able to get to it. And at some point maybe we will. That would be a great thing.”
He described the potential action as “something we could do later” if necessary.
Trump also raised the possibility of additional strikes on Iranian military personnel after posting a cryptic message earlier in the week about targeting “areas and groups of people.”
“The military is almost non-existent,” he stated. “If you look, we could hit the military itself very hard, but maybe we will, maybe we won’t. We haven’t made that determination.”
The White House pushed back on reports that Trump had privately expressed serious interest in deploying U.S. ground troops into Iran.
Following related developments, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina stated on Sunday during a television appearance that the United States would not deploy boots on the ground in Iran. However, by Monday, Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth indicated they would not rule out any options for such a move.
Currently, U.S. military operations against Iran have focused on aerial strikes, but Trump told reporters on Monday: “I don’t have the yips with respect to boots on the ground—like every president says, ‘There will be no boots on the ground.’ I don’t say it. I say, ‘probably don’t need them,’ [or] ‘if they were necessary.’”
Trump allegedly discussed military strategy for postwar Iran with aides and Republican officials, envisioning a scenario where U.S. forces would secure the country’s uranium and ensure a cooperative government that could partner with America—a vision reminiscent of actions in Venezuela.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the reports stemmed from “assumptions” by anonymous sources not part of the president’s national security team.
“President Trump always, wisely keeps all options open,” she added. “But anyone trying to insinuate he is in favor of one option or another proves they have no real seat at the table.”
