NBC News reported on Saturday that U.S. President Donald Trump has shown serious interest in the possibility of deploying American troops on the ground inside Iran during private discussions. Citing U.S. officials, the network stated that Trump discussed the idea of deploying ground forces in Iran with aides and Republican officials while exploring post-war scenarios. According to sources, the proposal to deploy American troops in Iran does not involve a large-scale invasion but rather sending a limited force for specific missions. The network also added that Trump has not yet made a final decision and has not issued any orders to deploy U.S. ground troops in Iran. Officials who spoke to NBC News clarified that the White House confirms that Trump is keeping all options open but has not specified the option of deploying ground forces. In a phone interview with NBC News on Thursday evening, Trump was quoted as saying that the Iranians have «lost everything. We have some people that I think would do a good job». Trump did not name who he was referring to, but said that efforts are being made to ensure they are not killed in the war with Iran, which began last Saturday. «They've lost everything they can lose,» he added. In response to a question about a statement by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in which he said that a U.S. ground operation would be «catastrophic for them», Trump called the statements «useless». Trump continued: «We want to go in and clean it all out,» he said, as the country chooses a new leader. He emphasized that: «We don't want a guy that's going to rebuild for 10 years. They lost their navy. We want them to have a good leader».
