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Trump at a crossroads on Iran: Will he or won't he send in troops?

On 31 March 2026, Jewish Insider published Trump at a crossroads on Iran: Will he or won't he send in troops?, by Matthew Shea and Emily Jacobs. Marc Rod contributed. The article says the White House had not ruled out ground troops in the Iran war, and that specialists were describing narrow missions rather than an Iraq-style invasion. An American family should care because the press secretary's own line was that moving forces created options, not that a decision to send soldiers into Iran had been made.

Evidence rating: MODERATE. The claim is that the United States might send ground troops into Iran for limited jobs, such as securing nuclear material or taking ground near the Strait of Hormuz. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president had not made "any additional decisions" and declined to rule ground troops out. Former officials and analysts described the contingencies.

What the article says​

Shea and Jacobs write that the administration was talking about a diplomatic deal and, at the same time, threatening heavier strikes and possible ground troops. On Monday morning President Donald Trump posted that if talks failed and the Strait of Hormuz was not opened, the United States would end its "stay" in Iran by destroying electric plants, oil wells, and Kharg Island. Kharg Island, as the article describes it, is the port that handles about 90 percent of Iran's crude exports. In the same post he said serious talks were underway with a "new" and "more reasonable" Iranian leadership, and that great progress had been made.

Asked for comment, the White House pointed Jewish Insider to Leavitt's briefing that day. She said the president and his advisers were keeping "maximum optionality."

It does not mean the president has made any additional decisions.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, at Monday's briefing, as Jewish Insider quoted her on 31 March 2026. The sentence before it said that forces on the ground in the Middle East were there so the Pentagon could give the president options. She added that Trump had declined to rule out ground troops.

The article says Republican lawmakers were split on boots on the ground. Some said a ground operation would need an explicit vote of Congress. Others were hesitant or opposed. In recent days, the article says, citing CBS News, the United States had moved more than 3,500 additional troops into the Middle East, including the aircraft carrier USS Tripoli with about 2,500 Marines. Those are forces in the region. The article does not say they had landed in Iran. Trump had also threatened Iran's oil and energy sites over the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the shipping lane for a large share of the world's oil.

Elliott Abrams, Iran envoy in the first Trump administration, told Jewish Insider that massing ground forces near Iran was both preparation for possible use and pressure on Iran in the talks. He said there was no way to know what Trump would do if talks failed. The article says the administration was considering several ground options, including seizing Kharg Island.

Cameron McMillan of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies said targets could also include key terrain and islands around the Strait of Hormuz, and securing Iran's highly enriched uranium. He said he was not sure the administration would do it. He later argued against using these forces to seize and hold Iranian territory. He said every stated goal except the uranium could be met with less risk, for example by seizing tankers, and that the units then being deployed might not be enough for a large, long ground operation. He warned that U.S. troops holding ground inside Iran could become a target, and that casualties could pull the war into a larger ground fight.

Jonathan Ruhe of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America said there were real reasons to think ground operations could happen, because air and naval power had not by themselves reopened the strait, produced the uranium, or taken Kharg Island. He also said seizing uranium at Isfahan, taking Kharg, or landing along the strait would be larger and more open-ended than the raids that captured or killed Nicolás Maduro, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, or Osama bin Laden.

Daniel Shapiro, a former ambassador to Israel, said the talks looked stuck and that ground forces could not sit in the region forever, so Trump would soon have to use them or send them home. He said using them would mean a longer war and wider aims than the February talks had sought.

Richard Goldberg, a former Trump administration official, said ground troops would not have to mean an Iraq-style occupation.

People hear 'boots on the ground' and immediately think of Iraq, but we had boots on the ground in Venezuela as well — just in a very different way.

Richard Goldberg, to Jewish Insider, as quoted on 31 March 2026. He said the United States would not be invading Iran in the Iraq sense, but that special forces, airborne troops, or Marines might be used for narrow jobs, such as securing nuclear material or hitting a target that aircraft could not. He added that the military prepares for contingencies it may never use, and that Marines had been offshore Venezuela without being sent in.

What other reporting and posts add​

The option list the experts were reacting to. Axios reported on 26 March, as The Independent retold it, four options for a "massive final blow," including to "invade or blockade Kharg Island; invade the island of Larak, which helps Iran to control the Strait of Hormuz; seize the island of Abu Musa and two Iranian-controlled smaller islands," plus a separate plan for "ground operations to secure enriched uranium." White House officials called them "hypothetical." The Independent, 26 March 2026. (capture: twitter/t56__v668.md) Two days later The Washington Post reported the Pentagon was preparing weeks of ground operations; see Pentagon prepares for weeks of ground operations.

What Americans told pollsters. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released 19 March found, as Common Dreams reported, "just 7% of US voters support the idea of a large-scale ground invasion of Iran," and "55% said they would oppose the use of any ground troops." Common Dreams, 20 March 2026. (capture: twitter/t13__v147.md) An X news summary the same weekend carried a Politico line: "Republican insiders believe if we put boots on the ground in Iran the GOP will lose 60-70 seats in the House." X trend, 29 March 2026. (capture: twitter/t50__v599.md)

Israel's own infantry would not join. Israel's Channel 12 was reported as saying Israel would support a US ground operation "with airstrikes, intelligence, and airpower, but not infantry," a claim an X summary later said had "no direct confirmation" on Channel 12's site. X trend, 30 March 2026. (captures: twitter/t13__v148.md, twitter/t13__v150.md) Goldberg's point that ground forces could mean narrow raids matches what the Pentagon later acknowledged doing once, in the April rescue of a downed airman; see How a perilous US rescue mission in Iran nearly went off course.

What it shows​

Jewish Insider put the question plainly on 31 March 2026: will he or won't he send in troops. The White House refused to rule it out. The analysts it quoted warned that even a short landing could grow into a larger ground war. Five days later, more than 90 American troops were on Iranian soil in the F-15E rescue (Americans on Iranian Soil). See No Boots on the Ground.

Check it yourself​

Background for a new reader: the United States and Israel began bombing Iran on 28 February 2026. A month later, Marines and paratroopers were arriving in the region and the question was whether they would go ashore. Jewish Insider is a Washington news site covering Jewish politics, Congress, and Israel; it interviews many pro-Israel policy experts. Several of the people quoted here work at think tanks that favor a hard line on Iran: the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA). Elliott Abrams was Trump's Iran envoy in his first term.

Research captures: twitter/t56__v668.md, twitter/t13__v147.md, twitter/t50__v599.md, twitter/t13__v148.md, twitter/t13__v150.md

Last Updated: 2026-09-26

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