The Donald Trump administration is telling its allies it has no immediate plans for a ground invasion of Iran, even as it deploys thousands of troops to the Middle East, according to people familiar with the matter. The individuals, who asked not to be identified because of private conversations, warned that President Donald Trump could change his mind at any time or proceed with an attack. They noted that the troops could fulfill various roles, including helping to evacuate U.S. citizens, but also to create a sense of strategic ambiguity about U.S. intentions. U.S. ground troops in Iran. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that the United States can achieve its goals in Iran without the use of ground troops, although their presence gives Trump options. "The president has to be prepared for multiple contingencies, which I'm not going to discuss in the media," Rubio told reporters. "We can achieve all of our objectives without ground troops. But we're always going to be prepared to give the president maximum flexibility and the greatest ability to adapt to contingencies if they arise." What are U.S. plans for Iran? A White House official, who asked for anonymity to describe internal thinking, said it is the Pentagon's job to develop plans that give the president flexibility, and noted that Trump has previously said he has no plans to send ground troops anywhere at this time. The official added that Iran will be hit harder than ever if it fails to reach a deal. In recent days, the Department of Defense has deployed two Marine Expeditionary Units—about 5,000 troops in total—to the Middle East. The first one is scheduled to arrive on Saturday, while the second will take longer to do so. The department also ordered the deployment of about 2,000 soldiers from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division. Those movements have fueled speculation that Trump is preparing for a ground attack. Among the possible scenarios are capturing Iran's main oil export hub on Kharg Island, seizing Iranian nuclear material, or occupying coastal areas near the Strait of Hormuz. What would the U.S. need to invade Iran? The United States would need more troops for larger-scale operations, and the timelines for these would go beyond the four-to-six-week range that Trump set for the war. More than 150,000 U.S. troops invaded Iraq at the start of the 2003 war as part of a coalition that was roughly double that size. On Thursday, Trump postponed his deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face attacks on its energy infrastructure, which for now has calmed speculation that the United States was preparing to escalate a campaign that began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on February 28.
