Trump keeping boots-on-ground option open in Iran, U.S. ambassador to U.N. says

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz won’t rule out the possibility of President Trump sending U.S. troops into Iran.

Unlike Presidents Joseph R. Biden and Barack Obama, “President Trump is never going to take options off the table,” Mr. Waltz said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Mr. Waltz said the U.S. has forces in place ready to seize weapons of mass destruction on the president’s order, and he made it clear that Mr. Trump’s bottom line is ensuring Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon.

“He’ll do what’s necessary to make sure they don’t,” he said, adding that voters wanted a president who stands by his red lines and avoids “bad deals” that could leave the country less safe.

Axios reported over the weekend that U.S. and Israeli officials are weighing whether to send ground forces into Iran to seize its stockpile of enriched uranium.

NBC News separately reported late last week that Mr. Trump has shown interest in deploying small teams of U.S. troops for targeted missions inside the country.

Sen. Thom Tillis, North Carolina Republican, said Sunday that if the administration sends special operations forces into Iran to secure uranium, it would fundamentally change the nature of the mission.

He warned it could exceed the 60-day window allowed under the 1973 War Powers Resolution and might require Congress to approve a new Authorization for the Use of Military Force.

“When you start putting boots on the ground, and those boots on the ground may need reinforcement, that starts looking like a longer-term conflict,” Mr. Tillis said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I believe that some of the reasons why you may see some hesitancy among voters right now is they’re just not clear what we’re doing and how long we’re going to be doing it,” he said. “We need to provide clarity there, so that we can get the American people squarely behind the effort as well.”

Democrats, meanwhile, are questioning the legal basis for the strikes and strongly opposing any move to send troops into Iran.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Sunday there is “no” scenario in which he would support deploying ground forces.

The New York Democrat argued that Mr. Trump told voters during the 2024 presidential campaign that American service members would not be put in harm’s way in another Middle East conflict. Mr. Jeffries also noted the recent loss of U.S. service members.

“We are deeply saddened right now by the loss of brave and heroic service men and women who have already lost their lives,” he said.

“The American people deserve answers from the administration as to how we are going to actually move forward in a way that makes America safer, not more vulnerable,” Mr. Jeffries said.

Sen. John Kennedy, Louisiana Republican, said he does not believe Mr.  Trump will send in troops.

“In fact, if he sends in troops, the thud you hear will be me face-planting because I fainted,” Mr. Kennedy said on “Fox News Sunday.” “I think this will all take a matter of weeks and after we are done, it’ll be up to the good people, and they are good people of Iran, to try to overthrow these knobheads who are in charge now.”

For his part, Mr. Trump has been open about his options since approving the Iran strikes.

“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,” Mr. Trump told The New York Post. “I say, ’probably don’t need them’ [or] ’if they were necessary.’”