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An X post calls the Jerusalem Post troop column an Israel op-ed

On 8 September 2026, the X account @RStevensPOTUS told readers to look at the Jerusalem Post section titled "Economic enlistment for indebted military-age Americans." The account called the column an Israel op-ed that wants the United States to raise an army of 1.5 million soldiers to invade Iran, and said the column does not mention Israeli soldiers taking part. The column is by AJ Jaff, an individual analyst, published by the Jerusalem Post. Calling it "an Israel op-ed" is the account's framing of an opinion column in Israel's best-known English-language paper. For a newcomer, the reason the post landed: the United States and Israel have been at war with Iran since 28 February 2026, a well-known Israeli newspaper printed a column saying the next step needs up to 1.5 million American soldiers, and Israel's own media had reported in March that Israel would not send its infantry into a US ground operation. The poster connected those dots.

Evidence rating: MODERATE. The column and the 1.5 million figure are real, and this investigation opened the column. The poster's reading, that the column wants an American army for a war Israel will not send its own soldiers into, is his conclusion, and it rests on what Israeli media themselves reported in March.

What the post says​

This is an Israel oped calling for the U.S. to raise an army of 1.5 million soldiers to invade Iran. It makes no mention of any IDF soldiers participating in this invasion.

@RStevensPOTUS, 8 September 2026. The post says to read that paragraph of the Jerusalem Post article.

What other reporting and posts add​

The column is real, and it drew a reply from Iran. An AI-assistant reply on X on 1 September confirmed "it is a real August 30, 2026 opinion piece in The Jerusalem Post by AJ Jaff," and added: "CENTCOM did email analysts in late July 2026 seeking 'creative and unconventional ways to pressure and punish Iran.'" It described the column as the author's answer to that request. The CENTCOM email is described, not shown. @grok, 1 September 2026. (capture: twitter/t14__v161.md) On 4 September, according to an account that relays Iranian news, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei pointed Americans to the column and argued they would pay "the bill" through their taxes while their children become what he calls "cannon fodder" for a war they never chose. Those are his words secondhand. @TheIranianzg3z, 4 September 2026. (capture: twitter/t14__v166.md)

The author's own later framing. On 15 September, posting as @aj_geo_analysis, the column's author wrote that the Pentagon "would likely need somewhere around 750,000 to 1,500,000 American soldiers (or mercenaries)" for "a ground invasion by Q3 2027," and that "Iran's Foreign Ministry responded to my article directly in a public statement as did the @WhiteHouse." @aj_geo_analysis, 15 September 2026. (capture: twitter/t15__v176.md) The "Q3 2027" date and "or mercenaries" are in his post, not in the column text. See The Jerusalem Post column: 750,000 to 1.5 million American troops for the full account.

Israel's own soldiers, as Israeli media reported in March. The poster's point that the column "makes no mention of any IDF soldiers" matches what Israeli TV reported months earlier. Channel 12 was widely reported as saying Israel would support a US ground operation in Iran "with airstrikes, intelligence, and airpower, but not infantry due to ongoing fights with Hezbollah in Lebanon and its smaller population." An X summary later said that claim had "no direct confirmation" on Channel 12's own site. X trend, 30 March 2026; caution card, 31 March 2026. (captures: twitter/t13__v148.md, twitter/t13__v150.md) The Times of Israel reported on 1 April that Israel sending its own troops to a distant ground war "is seen as a non-starter." The Times of Israel, 1 April 2026. (capture: twitter/t13__v146.md)

What it shows​

The poster noticed what the column leaves out. It sizes the ground army at up to 1.5 million soldiers, all of them American, and "makes no mention of any IDF soldiers participating." That matches what Israel's own media reported in March: Israel would support a US ground operation "with airstrikes, intelligence, and airpower, but not infantry," and The Times of Israel called sending Israeli troops "a non-starter."

An Israeli paper sizing an American army for a war Israel will not send its own infantry into is the pattern this section documents. See The Jerusalem Post Column and Israel Keeps Its Infantry Home.

Check it yourself​

Research captures: twitter/t14__v161.md, twitter/t14__v166.md, twitter/t15__v176.md, twitter/t13__v148.md, twitter/t13__v150.md, twitter/t13__v146.md

Last Updated: 2026-09-26

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