U.S. President Donald Trump allegedly discussed the possibility of sending American troops to Iran in private, according to two U.S. officials cited by NBC News‘ recent report.
According to officials, the private discussions have not focused on a large-scale invasion; instead, the idea has been about sending a small unit of troops to Iran, used for “specific strategic purposes.” They also highlighted that Trump has neither decided nor instructed the U.S. military to send troops to Iran.
NBC EXCLUSIVE: Trump has privately shown serious interest in US ground troops in Iran
His comments have been focused on the idea of a small contingent of troops that would be used for specific purposes, sources tell @ckubeNBC @katiadoyl @glubold & me https://t.co/1iZNZfaXtw
— Julie Tsirkin (@news_jul) March 6, 2026
As per the report, Trump discussed the idea with aides and Republican officials outside the White House, during which he also emphasised his vision for an Iran after the war is over, with secured uranium and a government cooperating with the U.S. on oil production.
The claims were met with intense criticism from social media users, with Tommy Vietor, a former Obama staffer, writing, ”God help us all.”
One user questioned the credibility of the sources cited by the outlet, ”Who are your sources? Since NBC has been less than truthful in the past,” they wrote, while another added, ”Surely boots on the ground are coming as soon as the Epstein files are back all over the media.”
A third social media user expressed similar views, writing, “Yeah, the specific purpose is to distract from the Epstein Files.”
”Ok parents and grandparents. Are you really wiling to sacrifice your sons and daughters and grandchildren to his war, all to keep Epstein off the front page?” another user stated.
”If only there was a historical analogy of Americans sending in just a few troops only to [be] pulled further and further into a quagmire. Something that might’ve happened in Donald Trump’s formative years…..” said Pennsylvania Capital-Star reporter Nick Field.
”He went from 4 days, to 4 to 5 weeks to months and now a small contingent number of troops.. Not to mention they haven’t even declared war yet. Operation Epic Failure,” another X user commented.
God help us all https://t.co/ULQT0NdJ5B
— Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) March 6, 2026
However, the aforementioned claims by U.S. officials cited by NBC News were rejected by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. In a statement to the outlet, she stated, “This story is based on assumptions from anonymous sources who are not part of the President’s national security team and are clearly not read into these discussions.”
“President Trump always, wisely keeps all options open, but anyone trying to insinuate he is in favor of one option or another proves they have no real seat at the table,” she stated.
The President himself addressed the idea of deploying “boots on the ground” in Iran, in an interview with The New York Post.
“I don’t have the yips with respect to boots on the ground — like every president says, ‘There will be no boots on the ground.’ I don’t say it,” he said, adding, “I say, ‘probably don’t need them’ [or] ‘if they were necessary,'” Trump said.
