US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he is not ruling out sending American ground troops into Iran if the situation demands it, even as he claimed the ongoing US-Israeli military campaign has already surpassed expectations.
In a phone interview with the New York Post, Trump ditched the cautious language often used by past presidents when discussing foreign interventions.
“I don’t have the yips with respect to boots on the ground. Like, every president says, ‘There will be no boots on the ground.’ I don’t say it,” Trump said. “I say, ‘Probably don’t need them,’ (or) ‘if they were necessary.'”
The remarks come just days after US and Israeli forces launched coordinated strikes under what Trump has called Operation Epic Fury, targeting Iran’s military and political leadership. The campaign began on Saturday and quickly escalated after the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Trump described the operation as moving faster than anticipated.
“We projected four weeks to get rid of their military leadership. We did it much faster than that, so we’re ahead of schedule there,” he said.
At a separate White House event, Trump said the US had initially projected a four-to-five-week window for the core phase of the operation but insisted that the Pentagon could sustain military action for far longer if required.
“We have the capability to go far longer than that,” Trump said. “I don’t get bored. There’s nothing boring about this.”
‘NO TROOPS IN IRAN, FOR NOW’
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters at a Monday morning Pentagon briefing that no American forces are currently operating inside Iran. However, he echoed the President’s refusal to rule out future deployment.
“President Trump ensures our enemies understand we’ll go as far as we need to go to advance American interests. But we’re not dumb about it,” Hegseth said. “You don’t have to roll 200,000 people in there and stay for 20 years.”
Before the strikes began, Vice President JD Vance had told The Washington Post there was “no chance” the US would be pulled into a prolonged Middle East war. Trump has acknowledged that American casualties are always possible in wartime but has not committed to a long-term ground presence.
RISING TOLL AND REGIONAL FALLOUT
The conflict has already taken a heavy human toll. According to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, at least 555 people have been killed in Iran since the strikes began, with attacks reported in more than 130 cities. In Israel, authorities say 11 people have been killed, while Lebanon has reported 31 fatalities.
Iran and its regional proxies have retaliated with strikes targeting Israel, Gulf states and infrastructure critical to global oil and gas production. The expanding scope of attacks and the absence of a clear exit strategy have raised fears of a prolonged and destabilising regional war.
(With inputs from agencies)
