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מקורות ל־NBC: טראמפ גילה "עניין רציני" בהצבת כוחות קרקעיים באיראן — Sources to NBC: Trump showed "serious interest" in placing ground forces in Iran
On March 7, 2026, the Hebrew site of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz published מקורות ל־NBC: טראמפ גילה "עניין רציני" בהצבת כוחות קרקעיים באיראן. The page prints the date 07 במרץ 2026. No byline appears in the text that loaded. Most of the article sits behind a subscription wall. The part that did load says NBC reported that President Donald Trump had shown serious interest in American ground forces in Iran. An American family should care because ground forces means US soldiers in another country. The subheadline says the White House spokeswoman denied the report.
Background for a new reader. The United States and Israel began bombing Iran on 28 February 2026; Washington calls its part Operation Epic Fury. Through March the argument in Washington was whether to add ground troops, meaning American soldiers physically inside Iran, to what had been an air and sea war. Israeli outlets, writing in Hebrew, Russian, Spanish, French and English, followed that argument closely and often passed on American reports to their readers. This page is one of those reports.
Evidence rating: MODERATE. Haaretz is relaying NBC. NBC cited three American sources and one other person who said Trump had shown serious interest in a limited ground force. The White House press secretary attacked the sourcing; she did not deny the option. The unread remainder of the Haaretz article is not used here.
What the article says
The subheadline says three American sources and a person familiar with the subject told NBC that the president was considering a limited placement of forces in the country for specific strategic purposes, and not a wide ground entry. It says the White House spokeswoman denied the report. The loaded text does not quote her words and does not print her name.
The body paragraph that loaded gives the NBC claim.
נשיא ארה"ב דונלד טראמפ גילה "עניין רציני" בפריסת כוחות אמריקאים קרקעיים באיראן, כך דיווחה היום (שבת) רשת NBC מפי שלושה מקורות אמריקאים ומקור נוסף המעורה בפרטים.
Haaretz, March 7, 2026. In English, that sentence says US President Donald Trump showed serious interest in deploying American ground forces in Iran, as NBC reported that Saturday, citing three American sources and another source familiar with the details.
Haaretz says that, according to the report, Trump discussed deploying the forces with his aides and with Republicans outside the White House. It says the talks dealt with his vision for the day after the war with Iran. It says the sources stressed that he was not considering a wide ground entry, only a limited deployment for specific strategic purposes. The page then stops. The rest did not load.
The NBC article, opened for this page, is dated March 6, 2026. NBC says two US officials, a former US official, and another person described the conversations. NBC says Trump had not made decisions or given orders about ground troops. NBC says the post-war picture he described to aides included securing Iran's uranium and cooperating with a new Iranian government on oil, on the model of Venezuela after the United States seized Nicolás Maduro. Haaretz's loaded text says "the day after" and does not spell out uranium, oil, or Venezuela. Those details are on the NBC page. NBC quotes White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
This story is based on assumptions from anonymous sources who are not part of the President's national security team and are clearly not read into these discussions.
Karoline Leavitt, as quoted by NBC News, March 6, 2026. NBC also quotes her saying Trump keeps all options open, and that anyone who claims he favors one option has no real seat at the table. That is the denial the Haaretz subheadline mentions without quoting. NBC says that, in public, Trump had not ruled out boots on the ground, meaning soldiers physically in Iran, but that in an NBC interview he suggested he was not seriously considering a ground invasion at that time.
What other reporting and posts add
- NBC's narrower wording. An X trending page from 7 March 2026 quotes NBC's own paragraph: "The president's comments expressing serious interest in deploying ground troops have not focused on a large-scale ground invasion of Iran, but rather on the idea of a small contingent of U.S. troops that would be used for specific strategic purposes." X trend page. (capture: twitter/t50__v593.md)
- Trump's public line that week. Palestine Chronicle, 7 March 2026, reporting NBC: "Speaking to the network on Thursday, the president said sending ground troops to Iran would be a waste of time." Palestine Chronicle. (capture: twitter/t50__v590.md)
- Israel's ambassador, the next day. On 8 March 2026 Politico reported that Israel's ambassador to the United States, Michael Leiter, told CBS's Face the Nation: "If that includes putting boots on the ground — our preference is for the boots on the ground to be those of the Iranians." Politico's headline: "Israeli ambassador to US declines to rule out putting boots on the ground in Iran." The same Politico piece says Israeli President Isaac Herzog told Fox the day before that "it doesn't require troops on the ground." Politico. (capture: twitter/t13__v145.md)
What it shows
Haaretz carried NBC's report to Israeli readers: the president was interested in a limited American force on Iranian soil, for tasks such as securing uranium. The White House answer was that all options stay open. That limited mission, American soldiers going in for the uranium, is the one Netanyahu later described on 60 Minutes: "You go in, and you take it out." See Kharg Island and the Uranium Raid and No Boots on the Ground.
Check it yourself
Research captures: twitter/t50__v593.md, twitter/t50__v590.md, twitter/t13__v145.md
Last Updated: 2026-09-26