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Makor Rishon (Washington Post): The Marines on the way to Tehran? US does not rule out a ground maneuver in Iran

On 3 March 2026, Makor Rishon, an Israeli daily newspaper, published in Hebrew המרינס בדרך לטהרן? ארה"ב לא פוסלת תמרון קרקעי באיראן. The credit line is The Washington Post. The page time stamp is 10:53. The web address sits in Makor Rishon's opinions section. The text is a news account of the fourth day of the American operation, which the article says the administration calls מבצע זעם עצום, a name that means a great fury. It is the Hebrew rendering of Operation Epic Fury, the Pentagon's name for the campaign. An American family should care because the headline asks if the Marines are on the way to Tehran, and the opening sentence says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would not rule out sending American ground forces into 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 The Buildup; the full article index lists every article on this shelf.

Evidence rating: MODERATE. A named official, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, refused to rule out sending American ground forces into Iran, as The Washington Post reported and Makor Rishon printed in Hebrew. The article's own figures put the six American deaths at Port Shuaiba in Kuwait and about 50,000 soldiers involved in the operation. The rating covers those reported statements and figures.

What the article says​

The subheading says Operation "זעם עצום" was in its fourth day, and that the Trump administration would not rule out U.S. forces entering territory if needed. It says that despite promises of a quick finish, the first losses, in Kuwait, show the road to victory will be more complicated than expected.

מזכיר ההגנה האמריקני פיט הגסת' סירב לשלול אתמול (ב') את האפשרות של שליחת כוחות קרקע אמריקניים לאיראן, ולא הציג אסטרטגיית יציאה מהמבצע מצד ממשל טראמפ.

That is the article's opening, dated on the page 3 March 2026. It says this came as the Pentagon was trying to secure a fast, decisive win while limiting harm to American soldiers. It says Hegseth and General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, gave their first press statement since the operation began, while American and Israeli forces were striking military infrastructure in Iran for a third straight day, and while Iranian forces were hitting American bases across the Middle East.

The article says Hegseth, who served as a National Guard officer in the Iraq war, took a combative tone. It says he defended Trump's decision to approve the operation, scolded the administration's critics, and promised that unlike recent American wars this one would not be endless. In a written opening, it quotes him saying his generation understands better, and so does this president.

It also says there are signs the military's needs are already changing, and that the conflict could become more expensive and longer than the president may have expected. Officials, it says, reported that six American soldiers were killed by Iranian counterattacks, and that three advanced aircraft were lost. It says Trump told reporters at the White House the night before that the military estimated the operation might last four to five weeks, but that they have the ability to continue well beyond that.

Caine, it says, noted that more forces were sent to the region the day before. He would not give details beyond saying some of the added forces include tactical-aviation units. An unnamed person familiar with the plans said the Pentagon was also moving more air-defense assets to the region. A security official said the military was told to send more medical support and ammunition technicians to Europe. Spokesmen for the general and for Central Command, which runs Middle East operations, would not say how many more soldiers would deploy. An American official said about 50,000 soldiers were already involved in the operation.

The article lists the administration's aims as destroying Iran's navy, its air defenses, its command and control, and its nuclear and ballistic capabilities. It says that has required a coordinated effort across cyber, space, sea, air, and land. Caine said hundreds of fighter jets, ships, and drones had hit so many Iranian weapons that the United States had achieved local air superiority over Iran. It says the continuous attack hit more than 1,000 targets in the first 24 hours, but that some of the hardest targets remained, especially Iran's huge Shahed drone fleet and its long-range missiles.

In a talk with the New York Post on Monday, the article says, Trump conceded that he had not ruled out sending ground forces to Iran if that were needed. Caine said meeting the administration's goals will take some time, and that in some cases the work will be hard and dirty. He said they expect further losses, and that as always they will act to reduce losses among their forces.

The article is explicit about where the dead were. It says officials announced that a fourth American soldier had died of his wounds after a hard Iranian counterattack, and that the toll was updated to six hours later, when the bodies of two service members previously listed as missing were found at a site hit in an Iranian strike. It says all six deaths happened in Kuwait, in an incident in which other service members were badly wounded. It also says the Kuwaiti government admitted its forces had mistakenly intercepted three American F-15s the day before. It says the six crew got out safely and were in stable condition, according to a Central Command statement.

It says the State Department urged Americans in more than ten countries to leave now, citing serious safety risks from Iranian retaliation. It says an explosive drone hit a hotel in Bahrain and wounded two Defense Department employees, and that the U.S. embassy there told citizens to avoid hotels in Manama. It says the U.S. embassy in Kuwait was attacked twice, and that smoke was seen over the building the day before.

At the Pentagon, the article says, Hegseth framed the attack as a just response to years of Iranian harm to American interests, and as a necessary preventive move. It says he described Iran's missile and drone arsenal as a shield for nuclear blackmail, with U.S. bases, people, and allies in the crosshairs. It says he also appeared to contradict the president. Hegseth said the fighting in Iran is not a so-called regime-change war. Trump, the article says, has said explicitly that regime change is his goal, along with destroying Tehran's military capabilities.

The article says Trump, over the weekend, said the operation might last four weeks or more. It says Hegseth mocked a reporter who asked about the expected timetable and called it a trap question. Hegseth's line, as the article gives it, is that President Trump has all the freedom in the world to talk about how long it might take, and that he sets the terms.

Caine said hundreds of Iranian missiles were intercepted across the region and that the air-defense network was working as designed. The article says that claim looks troubled, because missiles and drones did hit American bases, including the deadly incident in Kuwait. It says Hegseth admitted as much: occasionally one may, unfortunately, get through.

It says Caine had warned the White House the week before that a shortage of ammunition, and a lack of broad military support from other allies, would add real risk to any operation in Iran. It says two kinds of interceptors, THAAD and Patriot, had been used heavily in recent operations, and that Patriots were also in high demand from Ukraine. It says the general disclosed that the first strikes, which began on Saturday, included more than 100 aircraft. It says U.S. forces dropped tens of thousands of munitions in the first two days, including B-2 bombers flying direct from the United States and bunker-busting weapons against underground Iranian facilities. It says cyber and space tools were used to blind Iranian forces before the strike, disrupting their communications so they could not coordinate or respond effectively.

What other reporting adds​

Hegseth's answer in English. Asked whether the US had boots on the ground in Iran, Hegseth said: "No, but we're not going to go into the exercise of what we will or will not do." (as reported by Yahoo News, 2 March 2026; research capture: twitter/t52__v618.md). Jewish Insider added his line: "This is not Iraq. This is not endless." (Jewish Insider; research capture: twitter/t52__v617.md).

The six dead in Kuwait. Later reporting identified the strike: "The attack on a tactical operations center at Port Shuaiba killed six Army soldiers and injured more than 30 service members on the second day" of the war, as Stars and Stripes put it (Stars and Stripes, 22 September 2026; research capture: twitter/t52__v623.md). Senator Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat, demanded the Army's investigation be released, writing that "On March 1, 2026, only the second day of President Trump's war against Iran, an Iranian Shahed drone struck a temporary CENTCOM facility" (Baldwin press release, August 2026; research capture: twitter/t52__v623.md).

What it shows​

On day four of a war sold as quick and decisive, an Israeli daily asked in its headline whether the Marines were on the way to Tehran, and answered with the Pentagon's own words: Hegseth would not rule out ground forces and offered no exit strategy, and Trump told the New York Post he had not ruled them out if they were needed. The first six American dead had already fallen, at a base in Kuwait, and the Joint Chiefs chairman said further losses were expected. Within weeks the Marines and the 82nd Airborne were on their way to the region. The refusal to rule out, printed for Israeli readers on day four, was the first step. See No Boots on the Ground and The Buildup.

Check it yourself​

Status: Pete Hegseth is alive. Dan Caine is alive. Donald Trump is alive. This page reports what the article says they said. It does not accuse them of a crime.

Last Updated: 2026-09-26

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