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The American threat, and Israel's assessment: no military way to open the strait

Channel 13 News, an Israeli television news outlet, published a Hebrew report by Alon Ben-David, האיום האמריקני וההערכה בישראל - "אין דרך צבאית לפתיחת המצר". His byline reads 29 March, at 23:00. The page does not print a year. The report is about US Marines already in the region, more American soldiers expected within days, and whether that makes a ground threat against Iran believable. An American family should care because the subject is US soldiers and a possible landing, not only bombs. The same article quotes a senior Israeli security official saying there is no real military way to open the Strait of Hormuz.

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. Ben-David is Channel 13's named correspondent. The Kharg Island line is quoted from American officials via the Washington Post, and the Israeli security official is unnamed.

What the article says​

Ben-David writes that mediating countries had opened talks in Pakistan, and that Iran did not appear to be answering negotiation. He writes that Trump is building the threat in the field and starting to move toward ground activity on the territory of the Islamic Republic. He writes that people around Trump hint the activity would focus on enriched uranium. Enriched uranium is uranium processed so it can feed a reactor or a nuclear weapon. He doubts the Americans can claim a clear victory without control of the Strait of Hormuz. That strait is the narrow sea lane out of the Persian Gulf. A large share of the world's oil moves through it.

He writes that a senior Israeli security official told Channel 13 that evening there is no real military way to open the strait and guarantee freedom of navigation there. That sentence is on the page as the official's words.

Ben-David then writes that the American threat of a ground invasion is becoming more credible with the arrival of Marine forces in the region, and with thousands of US Army soldiers expected in the coming days. He adds that Iranian missiles are still hitting the whole region, including American forces.

He reports Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran's parliament, whom he says Trump had marked as a possible leader of Iran after the war. Ghalibaf, in Ben-David's account from that morning, accused the other side of sending an open message of negotiation while secretly planning a ground attack. Ghalibaf said the United States had set out its wishes in a list of 15 points, to get what it did not get in the war. He said that as long as the Americans seek Iran's surrender, Iran's answer is that it will never surrender. He also said Iran is in a large world war, that the road ahead is hard, and that Iran can punish America and make it regret the attack. Those are his claims, as Channel 13 reports them. They are not facts established on this page.

Ben-David writes that the Washington Post had reported the Pentagon was preparing for possible ground activity in Iran. That activity, as he summarizes the Post, would include raids by special forces and infantry, if Trump approves it, and would be expected to last a number of weeks. Special forces are small units trained for raids. Infantry are regular ground troops.

התוכניות כוללות יעדים כמו פגיעה בתשתיות צבאיות, אך ייתכן כי הכוחות ישתלטו גם על האי ח'ארג.

American officials, as Alon Ben-David quotes them from the Washington Post, in his Channel 13 report dated 29 March on the byline. In plain English: the plans include aims such as hitting military infrastructure, but the forces might also take Kharg Island.

He writes that the same officials' next sentence was that this is not necessarily a full invasion. Kharg, he writes, is called Iran's oil island. It had become a strategic target and had been hit from the air and the sea. Those strikes, he writes, focused on the docking facilities, to hurt Iran's economic lifeline, and not on the oil infrastructure itself.

He also cites CBS News. He writes that more than 3,500 American soldiers, and 2,500 Marines, had arrived in the Middle East on the American helicopter carrier Tripoli. He writes that the ship also carried F-35 jets and other aircraft. Those figures are arrivals in the region, as the article states them.

What other reporting adds​

The Israeli official's point, from an American veteran. Four days earlier, retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis, a combat veteran and commentator, reacted to reports of the buildup: "Let me categorically state: there is nothing of strategic significance such a tiny force of a few thousand marines and airborne troops could accomplish. It will not open the Straits. It will not compel the Iranian gov to collapse or surrender. Sending these men into combat on a militarily unattainable mission is reprehensible." (Daniel Davis on X, 25 March 2026; research captures: twitter/t13__v154.md, twitter/t49__v586.md). That is the same judgment the unnamed Israeli security official gave Channel 13: force alone cannot open the strait.

The Washington Post, in its reporter's words. "The Pentagon is preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran, U.S. officials said, as thousands of American soldiers and Marines arrive in the Middle East for what could become a dangerous new phase of the war should President Donald Trump choose to escalate." (Dan Lamothe on X, 29 March 2026; research capture: twitter/t51__v603.md).

Ghalibaf's words, per another Israeli outlet. The Times of Israel, citing Iran's IRNA agency the same day, quoted him: "The enemy publicly sends messages of negotiation and dialogue while secretly planning a ground attack." (see Pentagon said prepping weeks-long ground operation in Iran).

What it shows​

Israel's Channel 13 told its viewers two things on the same night. An American ground threat was becoming credible, with Marines arrived, thousands of US Army soldiers on the way, and plans that could put US forces on Kharg Island. And a senior Israeli security official said there is no real military way to open the Strait of Hormuz.

Israel's own assessment is that the mission cannot be done by force, yet the forces being moved toward it are American. The same weekend, Israel's Channel 12 reported that Israeli infantry would not take part in a US ground operation. See Israeli Press on US Ground Troops and Israel Keeps Its Infantry Home.

Check it yourself​

Status: Donald Trump is alive. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is alive.

Last Updated: 2026-09-26

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