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Rubio says US can achieve Iran objectives without ground troops, war to last weeks, not months

Ynetnews published Rubio says US can achieve Iran objectives without ground troops, war to last weeks, not months on March 27, 2026. The page carries a Reuters byline. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, America's top diplomat, told reporters that the United States can meet its war aims in Iran without putting soldiers on the ground, and that the campaign could end in weeks rather than months. An American family should read the next part too. He said thousands of extra U.S. troops are already in the region so the president has choices if the war turns.

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 No Boots on the Ground; the full article index lists every article on this shelf.

Evidence rating: MODERATE. This page is Ynetnews's report of what a named cabinet officer said, including his remarks that leave room to send ground troops.

What the article says​

Ynetnews says Rubio spoke on Friday, before flying home from France, where he had met foreign ministers of the G7, the group of seven large industrial democracies. The page says the United States and Israel launched the conflict late in the previous month. Ynet files the story under the label Operation Roaring Lion.

Rubio said the United States was meeting its aims. Those aims, as he described them, are to destroy Iran's missiles and drones, destroy the places that build them, and strike Iran's navy and air force. He said the operation could finish in weeks, not months.

"We are ahead of schedule on most of them, and we can achieve them without any ground troops."

Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State, as reported by Ynetnews on March 27, 2026.

He said the recent deployment of thousands more U.S. troops was meant to give President Donald Trump ways to answer whatever happened next. He declined to give operational details. In the page's account he said the president has to be ready for more than one contingency, and that officials will keep giving him maximum flexibility as the situation changes.

The page also says Rubio suggested Iran might try to charge ships a toll in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow sea lane at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. He argued that European and Asian countries which trade through that lane should help keep it open after the fighting stops.

What other reporting adds​

Same quote, another Israeli outlet. The Jerusalem Post carried the same Reuters story the same day, with Rubio's line "without any ground troops, without any" (see Rubio says US can achieve Iran objectives without ground troops).

What Ynet reported three days later. A digest of that week's coverage quoted Vice President JD Vance, via Ynet: "We're not interested in being in Iran a year down the road, two years down the road." "We're taking care of business. We're going to be out of there soon." (@ZackEiseman on X, 30 March 2026; research capture: twitter/t49__v587.md). The same digest quoted the Wall Street Journal that Trump was weighing an operation "to extract nearly 1,000 pounds of uranium from Iran" that "would likely put American forces inside the country for days or longer." So within three days, the public record held both Rubio's "without any ground troops" and a reported plan for troops inside Iran.

The pledge's end date. On 16 May, after the 60-day War Powers deadline had passed, a post quoted Rubio at the White House: "Operation Epic Fury is concluded. We achieved the objectives of that operation." (@shanaka86 on X, 16 May 2026; research capture: twitter/t51__v606.md). The operation Rubio expected to end in "weeks, not months" was declared concluded seven weeks after he spoke. Fighting resumed in July under a new label.

What it shows​

Rubio's "no ground troops needed" reached Israeli readers through Ynetnews on 27 March 2026, alongside his own reason for the extra troops: to give the president options. That same weekend, Israel's Channel 12 told the same readers that Israeli soldiers would not join a US ground operation, and the Washington Post reported the Pentagon preparing weeks of ground operations. See No Boots on the Ground and Israel Keeps Its Infantry Home.

Check it yourself​

Last Updated: 2026-09-26

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