Trump does not rule out US boots on the ground in Iran

President Trump on Monday said that he would not rule out the use of American ground troops in Iran. This comes after the first weekend of war against that nation taken up by the United States and Israel.

When asked if there would be American service members used in Iran to further the objectives of Operation Epic Fury, Trump told the NY Post that there would be, "if they were necessary." Four US service members have been killed so far in the conflict when an Iranian missile struck a fortified operations center in Kuwait.

Trump told CNN "We haven't even started hitting them hard. The big wave hasn't even happened. The big one is coming soon." Bombs have been falling in Iran since Saturday morning and the regime's entire command structure has been wiped out, Trump said on Sunday, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

He further said "I don't care about polling." The midterm elections are coming up in November, with primaries already underway in many states. When Trump came into power, many of his supporters believed he would start no new foreign conflicts and would bring peace to America.

Trump and the Pentagon have said that this engagement in Iran is necessary for peace. The current conflict follows a strike in June 2025 called Operation Midnight Hammer, which was designed to take out Iran's nuclear weapons program. The nation has continued pursuing those ambitions even following the strike.

Speaking to reporters on Monday morning, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said that Iran had been building up their conventional weapons arsenal with the intent to use it as a shielf to prevent external interference in their nuclear program. The mission of Operation Epic Fury, said Joint Chiefs Chair Dan Caine, is to prevent Iran from having power outside of its own borders.