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Israeli Press on US Ground Troops

Israel's newspapers are the strongest sources this investigation has, because no one can dismiss them as hostile outsiders. In 2026 their English-language opinion pages argued, to American readers, that bombing Iran would not be enough and that American soldiers should go in: to seize the uranium, to take the Strait of Hormuz, to push "inwards toward Tehran," to be parachuted into Isfahan. Their Hebrew pages told Israelis that a ground invasion of Iran would need an American draft. This page walks through what they printed.

Evidence ratings: CONFIRMED for every quote below, each from the Israeli outlet named. STRONG that, taken together, Israeli outlets in 2026 argued for American ground action in Iran while reporting that Israel's own infantry would stay home.

The argument, in four steps​

1. Air power is not enough. Haaretz stated it in 2015, the day the nuclear deal was signed: "There is no military option, neither Israeli nor American, because there is no effective military operation without boots on the ground" (Haaretz, 14 July 2015). The Jerusalem Post's 30 August 2026 column was titled "The war with Iran will not be won through airstrikes, so what's left?"

2. The uranium needs people. "You can't bomb it into smithereens. You've got to locate it. It's only the size of a refrigerator, but it can actually fuel numerous nuclear devices" — Dan Diker of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, in All Israel News, 20 March 2026. Jason Greenblatt, to the Jerusalem Press Club, reported by JNS six days later: "I know people are against boots on the ground, but I don't see how you can get that nuclear material if there is no deal without some sort of special force operation." Go deeper: Boots for the uranium.

3. So American soldiers should go in. The opinion pages said how:

  • Jerusalem Post, 6 May 2026 (Rafael Castro): "Parachuting or inserting Farsi-speaking American units into Tehran or Isfahan would not feel like invading a foreign land to them" (Castro: Iranian-American units).
  • Jerusalem Post, 30 August 2026 (AJ Jaff): "between 750 thousand and 1.5 million American troops," recruited through "a federally administered debt-forgiveness enlistment program" (The Jerusalem Post Column).
  • JNS, 7 September 2026 (Joseph Puder): "Trump's second option is to put boots on the ground and overwhelm IRGC forces around the Strait of Hormuz while pushing inwards toward Tehran" (Puder: boots toward Tehran).
  • Jerusalem Post columnist Mark Lavie, as quoted by Military.com: "If the US is afraid of getting army boots dirty, or, more seriously, taking some casualties in a legitimate military operation, then its army is a waste of time and money."

4. And it would take a draft. Ynet told its Hebrew readers on 10 April 2026 that automatic US draft registration was coming "during the ongoing war with Iran," and that a ground invasion of Iran would not be logistically possible without turning the draft machinery back on. Mako reported an American celebrity's call for compulsory service "against the backdrop of the ongoing war between the United States and Israel and Iran." Go deeper: Ynet and Mako on a US draft.

Israeli television: the threat becomes credible​

Channel 13's Alon Ben-David reported on 29 March 2026 that the American threat of a ground invasion was "becoming more credible" with the arrival of Marine forces in the region and thousands of US Army soldiers expected within days. He relayed the Washington Post's report that the plans "include aims such as hitting military infrastructure, but the forces might also take Kharg Island," and quoted a senior Israeli security official that there is no real military way to open the Strait of Hormuz and guarantee navigation there (article page). Israeli TV was preparing Israelis for American soldiers going ashore.

Israeli reporting of the American plans​

When CBS, Axios, and the Washington Post reported Pentagon plans for ground operations in Iran in March 2026, Israeli papers carried each report the same day: the Jerusalem Post ("US military preparing for potential ground invasion of Iran"), the Times of Israel ("Pentagon said prepping weeks-long ground operation in Iran, short of full invasion"), Israel Hayom, Ynet, i24NEWS, JNS, Israel National News, and Haaretz. Israel's readers were kept closely informed of the ground war being planned in Washington. See Pentagon Ground Plans 2026 and the full article index.

Voices in Israel's press that warned against it​

Some Israeli writers warned about what they were watching. They do not weaken the story; they show that people inside Israel's own media knew where the argument was heading and what it would cost Americans.

  • +972 Magazine, 5 March 2026 (Meron Rapoport) compared the war to Israel's 1956 campaign alongside Britain and France, fought to "reorganize the Middle East," and quoted Senator Chris Murphy: "the idea that Netanyahu can decide where America goes to war, risking the lives of hundreds and perhaps thousands of American soldiers, is chilling" (article page).
  • The Times of Israel blogs (Lonny Baskin) called it "not a war of necessity; it is a culmination of Netanyahu's long-held vision," tracing it to the 1996 "A Clean Break" paper written for Netanyahu (article page; see A Clean Break, 1996).
  • The Jerusalem Report, 4 March 2026 (Asher Fredman) urged "great caution before deploying ground forces," citing Iraq (article page).
  • The Jerusalem Post, 6 April 2026 (Giorgia Valente, The Media Line): "The question is no longer just how many airstrikes Washington will launch, but whether American boots will soon touch Iranian soil" (article page).
  • Israel Hayom, 17 September 2026 (Itay Ilnai) quoted a retired US general: "It would be very difficult for Israel to persuade the Americans to undertake a massive ground operation inside Iran" (article page). The sentence treats persuading Americans as Israel's task.

When they said no US boots were needed​

Other Israeli-press pieces argued the war could be won without American ground forces: the Jerusalem Post's Pesach Wolicki ("without a single American boot on the ground," 20 July 2026) and Yonah Jeremy Bob, who criticized "Trump's unwillingness to use ground forces in Iran, even for targeted operations" (25 August 2026). Makor Rishon described "Trump's bet" on toppling the regime "without boots on the ground." Read closely, these pieces share the others' goal, the fall of Iran's government, and treat American restraint as the obstacle. Bob's complaint is that Trump would not use ground forces; Wolicki's alternative is a free hand for Israel in Lebanon and Israeli drones over Iranian cities.

Go deeper​

The articles on this page's shelf​

Status: Dan Diker is alive. Jason Greenblatt is alive. Rafael Castro is alive. AJ Jaff is alive. Joseph Puder is alive. Mark Lavie is alive. Alon Ben-David is alive. Meron Rapoport is alive. Chris Murphy is alive. Lonny Baskin is alive. Asher Fredman is alive. Itay Ilnai is alive. Pesach Wolicki is alive. Yonah Jeremy Bob is alive.

Sources​

Last Updated: 2026-09-26

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