US President Trump asserted on Thursday that he had no plans to commit ground forces to the US-Israeli war in Iran, even though he has acknowledged he is contemplating moves that could drag the military into land combat operations.
Trump’s comments still left some room for him to reverse course.
“I’m not putting troops anywhere,” 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 Trump said that he was “not afraid” to put US 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.
Trump said on Thursday that while he hated to attack Iran, he felt it was necessary, even though oil prices would rise and the economy might “go down a little bit”.
“I thought there was a chance it could be much worse,” he said. “It’s not bad, and it will be over with pretty soon.”
Despite Trump’s efforts at reassurance, the administration was sending signals that it was bearing down for a longer fight. It was not immediately clear what operations the $200 billion the Pentagon was seeking would pay for, but even at the steep price tag of recent operations — the first six days alone cost more than $11.3 billion, officials recently told lawmakers — that sum could most likely sustain operations for months.
The US is currently weighing whether to attempt a takeover of Kharg Island, where Iran loads most of the oil it produces onto tankers. The US struck what it described as several military sites on Kharg Island over the weekend.
The US is also deciding whether to attempt to seize the underground nuclear site at Isfahan, where Iran stores most of its 440kg of near-bomb-grade nuclear fuel. Either operation would likely require ground troops.
Last week, the US began moving 2,500 Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit from the Indo-Pacific region to West Asia, adding to approximately 50,000 US 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 US might be planning raids into Iran.
Nato rebuke
Trump assailed Nato allies on Friday over their lack of support for the war against Iran, calling the longtime US allies “cowards”.
“Without the U.S.A., NATO IS A PAPER TIGER!” Trump said in a social media post.
He complained Nato countries did not want to join the fight against Iran, yet still complain about high oil prices.
“Now that fight is Militarily WON, with very little danger for them, they complain about the high oil prices they are forced to pay, but don’t want to help open the Strait of Hormuz, a simple military maneuver that is the single reason for the high oil prices. So easy for them to do, with so little risk,” he wrote.
“COWARDS, and we will REMEMBER!”
New York Times News Service and Reuters