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The great struggle against Iran has a dangerous catch

On 17 September 2026, Israel Hayom published The great struggle against Iran has a dangerous catch. Itay Ilnai wrote it. Most of the column is about Iran's nuclear program and ideas for weakening the Iranian government. Two passages are about people on the ground. One is an unnamed official describing a Mossad plan to arm militias. Mossad is Israel's foreign intelligence service; its director, David Barnea, has led it since 2021. The other is a retired US general who says a massive American ground operation inside Iran is the least likely option. An American family should care because that second passage is about whether US soldiers would be sent to occupy Iran. The general's answer is that Israel would have a very hard time getting that.

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 Israeli Press on US Ground Troops; the full article index lists every article on this shelf.

Evidence rating: MODERATE. Israel Hayom's Itay Ilnai quotes an unnamed official on a Mossad militia plan, former Mossad and security officials, and a retired two-star US Air Force general identified only as P. The rating covers those quoted views.

What the article says​

Ilnai writes that the fight over Iran's nuclear work and the idea of changing the government have long been tied together. He says a plan devised by Mossad Director David Barnea, not long after Barnea took office, was a long effort to arm and train Kurdish militias and other minorities so they would move on Tehran and pull others with them.

An official the paper calls intimately familiar with that plan said: "I'm talking about boots on the ground, an invasion." He described tens of thousands of armed people, young Iranians who oppose the government, and Israeli Air Force cover. He said, "Everything is ready and waiting for the order," and, "All we need is for Trump to give us the green light."

Those fighters would be Iranians. The same column carries a skeptical view from a former Mossad official. A former senior Mossad official, who the paper says worked on Iran and left before Barnea's tenure, said overthrowing the regime from the outside is nonsense. His words: "It's a grandiose fantasy. You cannot overthrow a regime from the outside." Another former senior security official said Israel has failed at this kind of outside effort before, including in Lebanon and Gaza.

Later, Ilnai asks a retired two-star US Air Force general, identified only as P., about overthrowing the regime through a US ground invasion. P. asked not to be named because of a former role in the US nuclear establishment. He said killing Iranian nuclear scientists is "nice, even great," but that "all it does is throw sand into the gears of Iran's nuclear machine," because the knowledge remains. He said the danger of a nuclear Iran does not go away while this government holds power. He argued for sanctions and a coalition that includes Russia and China, so the government is isolated until people inside Iran rise.

Asked about a US ground invasion, P. called it the least likely option. He said Israel learned the cost of occupying hostile territory in Gaza, and that Americans understand that cost too. From the public to commanders and soldiers, he said, there is strong opposition to ground action unless there is a clear and immediate danger. He said Iran is not that case now.

"It would be very difficult for Israel to persuade the Americans to undertake a massive ground operation inside Iran."

P., a retired two-star US Air Force general, to Israel Hayom, 17 September 2026. The paper does not print his name.

Ilnai writes that the ground-invasion option only shows how hard the problem is. The rest of the column turns to older Israeli strike planning, the 2015 nuclear agreement, sanctions, and inspectors.

Status: David Barnea is alive. Donald Trump is alive. The American general is identified only as P.

What other reporting adds​

Barnea's own words, as quoted earlier. A March post, citing 2025 reporting, quoted the Mossad director telling his agents after the June 2025 war: "We will continue to be there, like we have been there." (@shanaka86 on X, 3 March 2026; research capture: twitter/t50__v593.md). The post used the line to argue Israel already had people inside Iran. It does not describe a militia invasion.

Washington's public line on arming Kurds. Early in the war, a post quoted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth: "None of our objectives are premised on the support or the arming of any particular force," and said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called reports of an approved plan to arm Kurds "completely false." (@Oluwasen_ on X, 4 March 2026; research capture: twitter/t49__v578.md). In September, an X user wrote that the White House "has denied reports that it is actively arming or coordinating an Iranian Kurdish ground invasion," but gave no link (research capture: twitter/t50__v594.md). The unnamed official in this article says the militia plan is "ready and waiting for the order." The White House denials say no such plan was approved. Both can be true at once: a plan can exist without an order.

Others who want Iranian boots, not American ones. Israel's ambassador to Washington, Michael Leiter, said in March: "our preference is for the boots on the ground to be those of the Iranians" (Politico, 8 March 2026; research capture: twitter/t13__v145.md).

What it shows​

The frame of this Israeli article is revealing: the question it puts to an American general is whether Israel could "persuade the Americans to undertake a massive ground operation inside Iran." His answer is that it would be very difficult, because Americans, from the public to the soldiers, oppose it. That is exactly the gap this section documents: Israel's leaders want a ground component, Israel's own infantry stays home, and the persuading is aimed at Washington. Six months into the war, the Pentagon still held ground options and more than 50,000 troops in the region. See Israeli Leaders on a Ground War and Congress and the Public.

Check it yourself​

Last Updated: 2026-09-26

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