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Retired US general: "Neither Israel nor the US will topple the Iranian regime"

On 19 March 2026, Israel Hayom published an interview by Itay Ilnai with retired United States Lieutenant General Mark Schwartz, under the headline Retired US general: "Neither Israel nor the US will topple the Iranian regime". Schwartz says he sees no chance of an American ground invasion of Iran, and that sending soldiers in would be extremely risky and would not help. An American family should care because a former senior US officer is telling an Israeli paper that a ground invasion would only put American soldiers' lives at risk. In the same interview he says he was not surprised that the United States joined Israel's war.

Background for new readers: On 28 February 2026 the United States and Israel began a joint air war on Iran. The Pentagon calls its part Operation Epic Fury; Israel calls its part Operation Roaring Lion. It came eight months after a shorter war in June 2025, when US bombers hit Iran's nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. The question running through this section is whether the air war turns into American soldiers fighting on Iranian soil. This article is filed under Air War Is Not Enough; the full article index lists every article on this shelf.

Evidence rating: MODERATE. The interview is an accurate record of what Schwartz, a retired lieutenant general who advises RAND, told an Israeli paper. His claim is a forecast that a large-scale invasion will not happen and would only put "the lives of American soldiers at risk." The same paper reported the same day that the White House had not ruled ground forces out.

What the article says​

Ilnai spoke with Schwartz by phone from Colorado, where the article says he has lived since retiring from active service in 2021. The paper says he served 33 years, most of that career in the Green Berets, the US Army's Special Forces. His last posting, the article says, was US security coordinator between the Israeli military and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, which the article calls Judea and Samaria. The article says he now advises the RAND Corporation and consults for American security bodies.

The interviewer asked about an American ground invasion, and said that in the United States people call that "boots on the ground." Schwartz answered that even if the United States sent ground forces into Iran, it would not help. He pointed to Iraq. He said that years after Iraq was supposedly liberated, Iranian-backed militias still largely control Iraq's security apparatus in practice. Asked if he saw any chance of an American ground invasion, he said: "Absolutely not. It would be extremely risky of us to do that."

He later said what he expects instead. He thinks the parties will return to negotiations once Iran is ready to reach agreements. He then closed the invasion question in his own words.

I do not see the possibility of a large-scale ground invasion of Iran. I do not know what that would achieve, apart from putting the lives of American soldiers at risk.

That is Mark Schwartz, speaking to Israel Hayom, published 19 March 2026.

He also said he was not surprised that his country joined Israel "all in" in its war against Iran. He said Israel and the United States "share the same strategic objectives," and that he is proud of that relationship. He said the current US president is more hawkish about eliminating the threat he believes Iran poses. The interview's questions name that president as Donald Trump, and they name Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as someone who, like Trump, had called on Iranians to rise up. Schwartz said American polls show the war is unpopular. He said many members of Congress believe the administration was not fully open about the war's goals. He did not cite a specific poll.

He described aims he believes strikes can meet without an invasion: ballistic missiles, drones, command sites, and Iran's conventional navy. He said shore missiles, small boats, and sea mines would remain a threat, and that hitting them is "mainly a matter of time."

What other reporting adds​

Others with the same view. The day before this interview, the analyst behind the Policy Tensor newsletter posted troop math ending: "The US cannot occupy Iran even with a draft." (Policy Tensor on X, 18 March 2026; research capture: twitter/t54__v638.md). Senator Tom Cotton had earlier said "the President has no plan for any kind of large-scale ground force inside of Iran," with one exception: search-and-rescue teams "prepared to go in and extract any downed pilot" (transcript of a clip, YouTube, 3 March 2026; research capture: twitter/t52__v619.md).

What happened next. Schwartz spoke about a large-scale invasion. Two weeks later a small ground mission did happen: US forces went into Iran to rescue two airmen from a downed F-15. In September, the head of US Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, described "more than 90" service members on the ground, as an RT write-up of his 60 Minutes interview put it, and called them "the first acknowledged US 'boots on the ground' in Iran in 46 years" (as pasted by @rbg4lif on X, 14 September 2026; research capture: twitter/t49__v581.md). The rescue shows that "no ground troops" and "no large-scale ground invasion" are different promises.

What it shows​

A former Green Beret general told Israel Hayom that a ground invasion would achieve nothing "apart from putting the lives of American soldiers at risk," and in the same breath said the United States joined Israel's war "all in" because the two "share the same strategic objectives." Set his "absolutely not" beside the record that followed. The day after this interview CBS reported the Pentagon's detailed ground preparations; nine days later the Washington Post reported plans for weeks of ground operations; and two weeks later more than 90 Americans were on the ground inside Iran for the F-15E rescue. A forecast of no invasion did not stop the steps toward one (see No Boots on the Ground and Pentagon Ground Plans 2026).

Check it yourself​

Status: Mark Schwartz, Donald Trump, and Benjamin Netanyahu are alive.

Last Updated: 2026-09-26

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