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Is the campaign expanding? Trump weighs next step against Iran

On 19 March 2026, Israel Hayom published a staff report headlined Is the campaign expanding? Trump weighs next step against Iran. It says the Trump administration is weighing thousands more US troops in the Middle East. The options it describes include ground forces along Iran's coast and troops on Kharg Island, which the article says is the departure point for about 90 percent of Iran's oil exports. An American family should care because this is an Israeli paper describing choices that would put American soldiers on Iranian land. The same article says the White House had not decided to send them.

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 Pentagon Ground Plans 2026; the full article index lists every article on this shelf.

Evidence rating: MODERATE. The rating covers Israel Hayom's report, drawn from Reuters and unnamed officials, that the administration was weighing thousands more troops and options that include ground forces on Iran's coast, troops on Kharg Island, and securing Iran's enriched uranium. Reuters, opened separately, describes the same options and the White House line that "President Trump wisely keeps all options at his disposal."

What the article says​

The piece is credited to ILH Staff. It says the Trump administration is weighing thousands of additional US troops as the war with Iran entered its third week. It attributes that to Reuters and to sources familiar with the details. The added troops, those sources said, would give President Donald Trump broader choices.

The options named on the page are concrete. One is securing oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow sea lane at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. Another is deploying ground forces along Iran's coastline. Officials are also considering sending troops to Kharg Island. The article says US officials acknowledged that such a move carries serious risks, because Iran can strike with missiles and drones. A further discussion, the article says, is a possible takeover or securing of Iran's enriched-uranium stockpiles. It says experts call that mission especially complex and dangerous.

The article then prints the denial. It says the White House made clear that no decision has been made to deploy ground forces, but stressed that "the president is keeping all options open." The stated aims, the article says, are degrading Iran's missile capabilities, dismantling its navy, and preventing it from acquiring nuclear weapons.

It also gives a casualty line for the war so far. Since fighting began in late February, the article says, the United States has carried out more than 7,800 strikes and destroyed over 120 Iranian vessels. Thirteen American soldiers have been killed, and about 200 have been wounded.

The closing sentence is about boots.

Despite past pledges to avoid new wars, Trump is no longer ruling out putting "boots on the ground" in Iran – while simultaneously signaling that the US may prefer not to lead the effort to secure the Strait of Hormuz alone.

That is Israel Hayom, 19 March 2026, summarizing the Reuters report.

Reuters, opened for this page, matches those points. It says a US official and three people familiar with the matter described thousands of additional troops. It says four sources, including two US officials, said securing the strait could mean deploying US troops to Iran's shoreline. It says the administration had discussed ground forces on Kharg Island, and that one official called that very risky. It says one person familiar with the matter described talks about securing Iran's highly enriched uranium. Reuters says its sources did not believe a ground deployment anywhere in Iran was imminent.

A White House official, speaking anonymously, told Reuters: "There has been no decision to send ground troops at this time, but President Trump wisely keeps all options at his disposal." Reuters also reports that on 19 March, asked if he intended to put more troops in the region, Trump said he was not putting troops "anywhere," but that if he were going to, he would not tell journalists. Reuters says its reporters were Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Erin Banco, and Gram Slattery.

What other reporting adds​

Trump's exact words that day. On camera, as transcribed from a USA Today video: "No, I'm not putting troops anywhere. If I were, I certainly wouldn't tell you, but I'm not putting troops." (USA Today video, 19 March 2026; research capture: twitter/t13__v147.md).

Netanyahu, the same day, in Jerusalem. Israel's prime minister told a press conference: "It is often said that you can't win, you can't do revolutions from the air, that is true. You can't do it only from there, you can do a lot of things from the air and we're doing, but there has to be a ground component, as well. There are many possibilities for this ground component, and I take the liberty of not sharing with you all those possibilities." (Just the News, 20 March 2026; research capture: twitter/t13__v147.md). He did not say whose troops. Israeli media later reported that Israel would not send its own infantry (see As US weighs putting troops in Iran, Israeli boots stay home).

What Americans thought that week. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on 19 March found, as Common Dreams reported it, that "just 7% of US voters support the idea of a large-scale ground invasion of Iran," that "65% of Americans believe that Trump will order such an operation anyway," and that "55% said they would oppose the use of any ground troops" (Common Dreams, 20 March 2026; research capture: twitter/t13__v147.md).

What it shows​

On 19 March 2026, the same day the President said "I'm not putting troops anywhere. If I were, I certainly wouldn't tell you," an Israeli paper told its readers the White House was weighing troops on Iran's coastline and on Kharg Island, and that Trump was "no longer ruling out putting 'boots on the ground' in Iran." In Jerusalem that day Netanyahu said "there has to be a ground component" without saying whose, and Israeli media later reported that Israel would not send its own infantry. A Reuters/Ipsos poll the same week found 65% of Americans expected a ground operation anyway. See No Boots on the Ground and Israeli Leaders on a Ground War.

Check it yourself​

Status: Donald Trump is alive.

Last Updated: 2026-09-26

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