A ground invasion of Iran and a possible military draft are controversial issues that remain “on the table” according to an interview with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt that aired on Sunday.
Leavitt made the remarks while speaking to Fox Business host and election conspiracy theorist Maria Bartiromo. Bartiromo asked Leavitt about Trump’s possible plans for “troops on the ground” as well as a military draft.
“President Trump wisely does not remove options off of the table. I know a lot of politicians like to do that quickly, but the president as commander in chief wants to continue to assess the success of this military operation,” Leavitt said.
“It’s not part of the current plan right now but the president again wisely keeps his options on the table,” she added.
NBC News has previously reported that according to at least two U.S. officials Trump has expressed “serious interest” in a ground deployment of troops in Iran. The White House was asked about those discussions, and the possibility was not ruled out.
The war against Iran has been unpopular from the beginning. Instead of rallying to support the presidency, as has occurred during other past military engagements like the Iraq War, the public has rejected it.
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For instance, a recent poll from NPR/PBS/Marist showed that 56% of respondents opposed the war, with a paltry 36% who approve how Trump has handled the situation.
The administration has struggled to explain why America attacked Iran, with a host of reasons—regime change, an imminent threat, purported threats against Trump—offered up. Figures like Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have complained, just days after combat began, that the media is reporting on the Americans who have been killed as a result of Trump’s actions.
Further complicating matters for the unpopular policy decision, Iran announced on Sunday that Mojtaba Khamenei, son of slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would become leader of the Islamic republic. Khamenei is seen as a hard-liner, and the choice is a rejection of Trump’s demands for “unconditional surrender” by the Iranian leadership.
Efforts by the U.S. to win the “hearts and minds” of the Iranian people are also being weakened by Trump’s actions. An air strike that killed 175 people, mostly children attending a school, now appears to be the direct result of a U.S. Tomahawk missile being fired at an Iranian naval base. Images of the children’s bodies have now been seen worldwide by millions of people.
Domestically, the war has caused an almost unprecedented increase in fuel prices as supply lines have been disrupted by combat.
It is against this backdrop of global chaos, death, and financial instability that the administration appears to be considering a ground attack on a Middle Eastern nation.
