President Donald Trump stands in the East Room of the White House, on March 2, 2026, in Washington. ALEX BRANDON / AP
President Donald Trump on Monday, March 2, said he is not ruling out sending US troops into Iran, while threatening a new, "big wave" of attacks. The 79-year-old Republican has long campaigned against decades of US military entanglements in the Middle East, but ordered a large-scale war against Iran starting Saturday.
While so far the assault has focused entirely on aerial attacks by missiles and bombs, Trump refused to rule out sending ground troops, something far riskier in terms of possible casualties. "I don't have the yips with respect to boots on the ground," Trump said, using a golf term for anxiety. "Every president says, 'There will be no boots on the ground.' I don't say it." In a brief interview with the New York Post, Trump said, "I say 'probably don't need them,' [or] 'if they were necessary.'"
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Trump's war of trial and error in Iran
