Felixnews.com – U.S. President Donald Trump emphasized on Thursday that he has no plans to deploy ground troops to the U.S.-Israel war in Iran, although he has acknowledged that he is considering measures that could draw the military into ground combat operations.
Trump’s comments still leave room for him to change course.
“I’m not going to deploy troops anywhere,” Trump told a reporter who asked about the use of ground troops, according to a report by The New York Times. “If I did, I certainly wouldn’t tell you.”
The president has spent the past few days alternating between threats to escalate attacks on Iran—which he sometimes refers to as “operations” or “excursions” rather than a war—and promises that hostilities are on the verge of resolution.
His latest comments came just two days after Trump said he was “not afraid” to deploy U.S. ground troops.
The remarks also came amid revelations that the Pentagon has requested $200 billion to fund its war operations , a sum expected to face opposition on Capitol Hill.
The fighting has continued to escalate since the United States and Israel first attacked Iran three weeks ago. Last night, Israel and Iran launched a series of attacks against each other’s key energy infrastructure sites. Israel struck Iran’s South Pars natural gas processing complex, and Qatar blamed Iran for the missile that damaged Ras Laffan International City, the country’s main energy hub.
The attacks shocked global markets, causing oil prices to spike before falling. The turmoil may have prompted Trump to speak in a more measured tone when asked about the negative economic impact of the war.
On Thursday, he said that although he hated attacking Iran, he felt it was necessary, even if oil prices would rise and the economy might “slow down a bit.”
“I think there’s a chance the situation could be much worse,” he said. “This isn’t bad, and it will be over soon.” He offered no further explanation.
Despite Trump’s efforts to offer reassurance, the administration is signaling that it is preparing for a longer conflict. It remains unclear what operations the $200 billion requested by the Pentagon would fund, but the first six days of operations alone cost over $11.3 billion, officials recently told lawmakers. That amount could likely sustain operations for months.
The United States is currently considering whether to attempt to seize Kharg Island, where Iran loads most of its produced oil onto tankers. The United States struck several military sites on Kharg Island over the weekend, although Trump has repeatedly indicated that they did not target oil infrastructure. However, on Wednesday, he also threatened that the United States could destroy the infras
The United States is also deciding whether to attempt to seize the underground nuclear site in Isfahan, where Iran stores most of its 970 pounds of near-bomb-grade nuclear fuel. Both operations would likely require ground troops.
Late last week, the United States began moving 2,500 Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit from the Indo-Pacific region to the Middle East, bringing the total number of U.S. troops already in the region to about 50,000. The selection of this unit, which specializes in conducting ground operations supported by naval and air assets, suggests that the United States may be planning an attack on Iran, potentially targeting the islands from which Iran launches fast boats capable of laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz.