US President Donald Trump said he would not rule out sending US ground troops into Iran “if necessary,” telling the New York Post he was “not ruling anything out” as the US and Israel press their campaign under Operation Roaring Lion.
Speaking on Monday, Trump said he “didn’t care about polling,” argued that leaders sometimes must act without clear public backing, and claimed the operation was “way ahead of schedule.”
"Today, the United States military continues to carry out large scale combat operations in Iran to eliminate the grave threats posed to America by this terrible terrorist regime," Trump said during a speech at the White House.
"The regime's conventional ballistic missile program was growing rapidly and dramatically, and this posed a very clear, colossal threat to America and our forces stationed overseas... the purpose of this fast-growing missile program was to shield their nuclear weapon development and make it extraordinarily difficult for anyone to stop them from making these highly-forbidden nuclear weapons," he continued.
"Our objectives are clear. First, we're destroying Iran's missile capabilities... Second, we're annihilating their navy... Third, we're ensuring that the world's number one sponsor of terror can never obtain a nuclear weapon... And finally, we're ensuring that the Iranian regime cannot continue to arm, fund, and direct terrorist armies outside of their borders," the president added.
Our objectives are clear. First, we're destroying Iran's missile capabilities... Second, we're annihilating their navy... Third, we're ensuring that the world's number one sponsor of terror can never obtain a nuclear weapon... And finally, we're ensuring that the Iranian regime cannot continue to arm, fund, and direct terrorist armies outside of their borders.
Trump said US and Israeli strikes had quickly targeted senior Iranian figures, portraying the campaign as a race to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The IDF has separately said the opening wave of the operation killed dozens of senior Iranian commanders in rapid succession.
He also linked the launch of the operation to the collapse of last-minute diplomacy, saying talks failed and alleging Iran was continuing covert nuclear weapons-related work despite negotiations.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the campaign would not be “complete overnight,” while insisting it would not become an “endless war,” describing US goals as destroying Iranian missile capabilities, naval assets, and other security infrastructure.
As the operation expanded, US Central Command confirmed the use of B-2 stealth bombers and heavy munitions against reinforced Iranian ballistic missile-related facilities, and also confirmed US casualties, with three American soldiers killed and five wounded.
Israel's actions in Operation Roaring Lion
On the Israeli side, the IDF said it has struck hundreds of targets in Iran, including ballistic missiles, missile launchers, air defense sites, and leadership targets. It said it has dropped about 2,500 bombs on roughly 600 Iranian targets since fighting began, including strikes it said destroyed ballistic missiles, launchers, and air defense assets.
Inside Israel, Iranian missile barrages have caused deaths, injuries, and damage in multiple locations, including injuries in an attack on Beersheba as sirens sounded nationwide on Monday morning, and a fatal strike in Beit Shemesh that killed 9 the previous day.