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Trump faces four military options as US reinforces near Iran

On March 30, 2026, the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom published Trump faces four military options as US reinforces near Iran, written by Dudi Kogan. Israel Hayom publishes in English. The piece says thousands of American paratroopers had begun arriving in the Middle East, and it lists four military options, some of which would put US troops on Iranian ground. A family should care because the article is about that choice, and because it also cites a poll saying most Americans oppose sending ground troops. The article says no decision has been made to send them inside Iran.

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 account, drawing on Reuters, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and US Central Command, of the forces arriving near Iran and the four options before the President, three of which would put American troops on Iranian ground or islands. The officials are mostly unnamed; the unit movements come from named outlets and a CENTCOM announcement.

What the article says​

Kogan writes that thousands of soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division had begun arriving in the Middle East. He cites Reuters and two US officials. The 82nd Airborne is a US Army unit of paratroopers based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The article says the force includes the division headquarters, one parachute brigade, and support units. It says they were joining about 2,500 Marines who had arrived over the weekend, plus sailors and special operations troops already in the region.

The article says US Central Command announced that the ship Tripoli had arrived with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, about 3,500 Marines and sailors, including 2,200 Marines, which left Okinawa on March 11. A Marine Expeditionary Unit is a Marine force that sails on Navy ships and can land from the sea. It says the ship Boxer was also on the way with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, about 4,000 Marines and sailors, including 2,500 Marines, which left San Diego on March 20. Citing the New York Times, it says hundreds of special operations troops, including Army Rangers and Navy SEALs, had arrived. Citing the Wall Street Journal, it says the Pentagon was considering up to 10,000 more ground troops, and that if President Donald Trump approved, the United States would have more than 17,000 ground troops on Iran's doorstep. "Doorstep" here means nearby, not inside the country.

Kogan writes that no decision has yet been made on deploying ground forces inside Iran. He then lists four scenarios. One is seizing Kharg Island, an Iranian island the article says handles about 90 percent of Iran's oil exports. The article says taking it would not by itself reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow sea lane tankers use to leave the Persian Gulf, and that troops there would face fire from the Iranian mainland. A second is breaking Iran's blockade of the strait by capturing islands and coastal launch sites. The article says Iran's Gulf coast is long and mountainous, and that Iran could still strike from deep inside the country. A third is a military raid to remove Iran's enriched uranium. Enriched uranium is nuclear material. The article says about 440 to 460 kilograms enriched to 60 percent are buried mostly in a tunnel complex at Isfahan, and that further enrichment would be enough for about 12 nuclear warheads. A fourth is a final wave of strikes on energy and water sites, which the article says would not require ground forces inside Iran.

It would require inserting hundreds if not thousands of troops deep inside Iranian territory and a complex engineering operation involving radioactive materials, all under Iranian fire.

Israel Hayom, describing reports on a uranium-extraction option, March 30, 2026.

The article says Trump, on Truth Social, tied an April 6 deadline to ending what he called a "pleasant stay" in Iran with strikes on power stations, oil wells, Kharg Island, and maybe desalination plants, which make drinking water from the sea. Kogan writes that Trump had already postponed earlier deadlines, and that this strike option does not require ground forces inside Iran. The article also says Iran has threatened to turn the Gulf's coasts and islands into a "graveyard" for US soldiers. That is a threat the article reports, not a result.

Kogan cites an AP-NORC poll from that week. He writes that 60 percent of Americans said the military action had already "gone too far," even before any talk of ground troops, and that 62 percent oppose such a deployment. He writes that Congress has yet to approve the military action, and that casualties could hurt Republicans in the November midterm elections.

What other reporting adds​

On option one, Kharg Island. Trump told the Financial Times the same weekend, as a digest quoted him: "Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don't. We have a lot of options... It would also mean we had to be there [in Kharg Island] for a while." (@ZackEiseman on X, 30 March 2026; research capture: twitter/t49__v587.md). Joe Kent, Trump's former counterterrorism director, is quoted in a Reddit comment warning it "would essentially be giving Iran a bunch of hostages on an island that they could barrage with drones and missiles" (research capture: twitter/t51__v601.md; original source not found).

On option three, the uranium. The same digest quoted The Wall Street Journal: a mission "to extract nearly 1,000 pounds of uranium from Iran" that "would likely put American forces inside the country for days or longer" (research capture: twitter/t49__v587.md). Nearly 1,000 pounds is about 450 kilograms, in line with this article's 440 to 460 kilograms.

The politics. An X trending page the day before showed a post saying "62% of Americans strongly oppose ground troops" and a line attributed to Politico: "Republican insiders believe if we put boots on the ground in Iran the GOP will lose 60-70 seats in the House." (research capture: twitter/t50__v591.md). The Politico article itself was not captured, so treat the seat figure as a lead.

What it shows​

This is the buildup in one page: an 82nd Airborne brigade and division headquarters, the 31st and 11th Marine Expeditionary Units, hundreds of special operations troops, and up to 10,000 more ground troops under consideration, more than 17,000 on Iran's doorstep. Three of the four options need soldiers on Iranian soil, and the uranium raid alone would mean "inserting hundreds if not thousands of troops deep inside Iranian territory ... all under Iranian fire." An Israeli paper laid it out while 62% of Americans opposed ground troops and Congress had not approved the war. See The Buildup and Kharg Island and the Uranium Raid.

Check it yourself​

Last Updated: 2026-09-26

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