President Trump Doesn’t Rule Out Boots On The Ground In Iran: “Sometimes You Need A Ground Campaign”

President Trump isn’t ruling out deploying ground troops in Iran.

In a recent interview with Fox News’ Trey Yingst, President Trump was asked whether the U.S. will conduct a ground invasion of Iran.

Trump responded by sharing that sometimes a ground invasion is needed.

The Daily Beast provided further context to Trump’s latest comments:

President Donald Trump is refusing to rule out a ground invasion of Iran.

Trump told Fox News on Tuesday that he would consider an invasion if he believed it was “appropriate.”

“Sometimes you need a ground campaign,” Trump told Fox correspondent Trey Yingst, who asked about using ground troops. “But we have other people who will do the ground campaign for us.”

Trump continued, “We already hit Kharg Island, as you know, twice, uh, even three times. I said, ‘Hit everything but the oil. Just leave that little area from 25 yards out. Leave that little area. Don’t touch the oil.’ Because I don’t want that, in terms of the world economy, it’s a—you know—it’s a chunk of the world economy, so we haven’t hit that.”

The president also refused to specify whether the U.S. would try to take Kharg Island, saying doing so “would be foolish.”

Yingst pressed Trump on whether his stated objectives for the war, including ensuring Iran’s nuclear compliance, degrading their military, and keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, could be accomplished through an air campaign alone.

“I think they are completed now, honestly,” the president said. “If we left right now, it would take them 20 years to rebuild.”

Here’s the moment Trump said it here:

Trump on RULING OUT a GROUND INVASION of IRAN:

'Sometimes… YOU NEED A GROUND CAMPAIGN' pic.twitter.com/j1f74kiZxz

— RT (@RT_com) July 14, 2026

Here’s Trump’s full interview:

President Trump as the Commander in Chief knows by not ruling out a ground invasion, Iran will have to stay on their toes and may finally come to the table to make a deal.

Fox News provided a prediction of what a ground invasion would look like:

Hundreds of U.S. Marines storm ashore as helicopters thunder overhead, Navy warships and fighter jets establish overwhelming air and sea superiority, and commanders issue one final warning to Iranian forces: surrender or be overrun.

That is how military experts envision the opening hours of a potential U.S. operation to seize Iran’s Kharg Island — the tiny but strategically vital island that handles roughly 90% of the Islamic Republic’s crude oil exports and has become the centerpiece of Washington’s economic pressure campaign against Tehran.

The scenario was thrust back into the spotlight Tuesday after President Donald Trump declined to rule out taking the island. “I can’t say that to you because if I did, it would be foolish,” Trump told Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst during an exclusive interview on ‘Special Report’ when asked directly whether he planned to seize Kharg island. He added that previous U.S. strikes intentionally avoided the island’s oil facilities because they are “a chunk of the world economy.”

“There are a lot of ways to skin this cat,” retired Vice Adm. Robert Harward, former deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, told Fox News Digital in an interview.

Harward explained a Marine Expeditionary Unit could conduct an amphibious assault while U.S. naval and air forces establish complete control over the battlespace, giving Iranian defenders an opportunity to surrender before major fighting begins. The goal, he said, would not simply be to capture the island but to preserve the oil infrastructure that could one day serve a post-Islamic Republic government.

“The real objective at the end of the day is to minimize risk,” said Harward. “Not only to your own forces, but to the people you’re coming in contact with,” while also limiting damage to facilities that could eventually be handed over to “a government of Iran that is focused on supporting its people, as opposed to proliferating the Islamic Revolution.”

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Trump’s remarks echoed Harward’s assessment that preserving Kharg’s oil facilities would likely be a key military objective. Trump said he had instructed U.S. forces during previous strikes to “hit everything, but the oil,” explaining that damaging the export terminal could have significant consequences for the global economy.

What are your thoughts?

Do you support a ground campaign in Iran?