Trump Says He Won't Send Troops to Iran but Leaves Wiggle Room

Source: New York Times

Trump Says He Won't Send Troops to Iran but Leaves Wiggle Room

The president was cagey about his plans for Iran. He confirmed the Pentagon was seeking $200 billion to support a protracted war effort while also claiming it would be over soon.


President Trump at the White House on Thursday. Doug Mills/The New York Times

By Karoun Demirjian and David E. Sanger
Reporting from Washington

Published March 19, 2026
Updated March 20, 2026, 3:10 a.m. ET

President Trump asserted on Thursday that he had no plans to commit ground forces to the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran, even though he has acknowledged he is contemplating moves that could drag the military into land combat operations. ... Mr. Trump's comments still left some room for him to reverse course. ... "I'm not putting troops anywhere," Mr. Trump told a reporter who asked about using ground troops. "If I were, I certainly wouldn't tell you."

The president has spent several days alternating between threats to escalate strikes on Iran -- which at times he has insisted are an "operation" or an "excursion" instead of a war -- and promising that the hostilities are on the brink of completion.

His latest comments come just two days after Mr. Trump said that he was "not afraid" to put U.S. boots on the ground. ... They also come amid revelations that the Pentagon has asked for $200 billion to pay for its war operations against Iran, a sum that is expected to encounter resistance on Capitol Hill.

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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, adding to approximately 50,000 U.S. troops already in the region. The selection of that unit, which has expertise in conducting ground operations buttressed by sea and air support, suggests that the United States might be planning raids into Iran, potentially against the islands from which Iran has been launching fast boats capable of mining the Strait of Hormuz.

Karoun Demirjian is a breaking news reporter for The Times.

David E. Sanger covers the Trump administration and a range of national security issues. He has been a Times journalist for more than four decades and has written four books on foreign policy and national security challenges.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/19/world/middleeast/trump-iran-us-troops.html