Skip to main content

← Pentagon Ground Plans 2026

EE. UU. ha elaborado planes para una operación terrestre en Irán — The US has drawn up plans for a ground operation in Iran

On 20 March 2026, Noticias de Israel, a Spanish-language Israeli news site, published "EE. UU. ha elaborado planes para una operación terrestre en Irán". No author is named. The article says it is drawing on CBS News and on unnamed sources. An American family should care because it says the Pentagon, the headquarters of the US Department of Defense, had written detailed plans to put US ground forces in Iran while President Donald Trump was still deciding. The same article prints his denial, and a denial from his press secretary.

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. Unnamed sources describe preparations. Trump and press secretary Karoline Leavitt say he had not decided and was not planning to send ground troops then. The CBS News story this article cites was opened for this page, and it reports the same preparations and the same statements.

What the article says​

Noticias de Israel writes that Pentagon officials had drawn up detailed preparations for a possible deployment of US ground forces in Iran. It says multiple sources told that to CBS News. It says senior commanders had filed specific requests so the option would be ready while Trump weighed next steps in the war the United States and Israel are fighting against Iran. It says the sources spoke anonymously because they were not allowed to speak in public. It says it was not clear in what circumstances he would authorize soldiers on the ground.

Funcionarios del Pentágono han elaborado preparativos detallados para un eventual despliegue de fuerzas terrestres estadounidenses en Irán, según múltiples fuentes informadas sobre esas conversaciones citadas por CBS News.

Noticias de Israel, 20 March 2026. In plain English: Pentagon officials have drawn up detailed preparations for a possible deployment of US ground forces in Iran, according to multiple sources briefed on those talks and cited by CBS News.

The article quotes Trump telling reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday that he was not going to deploy troops anywhere. In the Spanish on the page, he says "No, no voy a desplegar tropas en ningún sitio". It says he then added that if he were going to, he certainly would not say so. The CBS story opened for this page gives the English. CBS quotes him saying "No, I'm not putting troops anywhere," and then, "If I were, I certainly wouldn't tell you." The CBS page showed no dateline.

Noticias de Israel prints a statement from White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. She said it is the Pentagon's job to prepare options so the commander in chief has the widest choice. She said that does not mean the president had made a decision. She said that, as he had said in the Oval Office the day before, he was not planning to send ground troops anywhere at that moment. CBS prints the English. The key clause is that "he is not planning to send ground troops anywhere at this time."

The Spanish article says two sources told CBS the Army had also met about how to handle captured Iranian soldiers and paramilitary fighters if Trump ordered American troops in, including where those prisoners would be sent. It says the United States was preparing to send elements of the 82nd Airborne Division, a US Army paratrooper division, to the Middle East. It says the planning involved the Army's Global Response Force, a fast-deployment package, and a Marine Expeditionary Unit, a Marine force built to go ashore from ships.

It says thousands of Marines were being moved toward the region. Two US officials said three warships and about 2,200 Marines left California at the start of that week. It says this was the second Marine unit sent since the war began, and that it could be several weeks before that unit was in position. The first had left from the Pacific and was still on the way. CBS reports those same movements and the same figure of about 2,200 Marines.

What other reporting and posts add​

  • The prisoner meetings, confirmed by a second post. An OSINT account posted on 20 March 2026: "PENTAGON officials have made detailed preparations for deploying U.S. ground forces into Iran, multiple sources tell CBS News. The military has also held meetings to prepare for how to handle the possible detention of Iranian soldiers." Post. (capture: twitter/t49__v582.md)
  • Which units. A Threads summary of the same CBS story lists: "Units being prepped: the 82nd Airborne Division, the Army's Global Response Force, and the Marine Expeditionary Unit. Two MEUs are already moving to the region." The Global Response Force is the Army's standing package of units kept ready to fly out on short notice. Threads. (capture: twitter/t50__v598.md)
  • CBS's paragraph, fuller. A Reddit preview of the CBS article carries: "Mr. Trump has been deliberating whether to position ground forces in the region, sources said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. It was unclear under what circumstances he would authorize the use of troops on the ground." (capture: twitter/t49__v577.md)
  • A skeptic's reply. On an X trending page the next day, a user answered the 82nd Airborne reports: "18 Airborne Corp is always "preparing to deploy". The CBS article is ambiguous at best, and your interpretation of it is fear mongering." X trend page. (capture: twitter/t13__v151.md)

What it shows​

Noticias de Israel, a Spanish-language Israeli site, reported the Pentagon's ground plans, including where Iranian prisoners of war would be held, next to Trump's words: he was not putting troops anywhere, and "If I were, I certainly wouldn't tell you." The second sentence is the president's own account of how much the public would be told (No Boots on the Ground). The Marines and 82nd Airborne named in the article were on their way (The Buildup).

Check it yourself​

Status: Donald Trump is alive. Karoline Leavitt is alive.

Research captures: twitter/t49__v582.md, twitter/t50__v598.md, twitter/t13__v151.md, twitter/t49__v577.md

Last Updated: 2026-09-26

Last updated on