United States President Donald Trump has ruled out the possibility of deploying American ground troops to Iran, describing such a move as unnecessary and ineffective amid the ongoing conflict involving the United States and Israel.
Speaking in a telephone interview with NBC News on Thursday, Trump dismissed warnings from Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that any US or Israeli ground invasion would prove disastrous for invading forces.
“It’s a waste of time. They’ve lost everything. They’ve lost their navy. They’ve lost everything they can lose,” Trump said. He also described Araghchi’s remarks that Iran was prepared for a potential invasion as a “wasted comment.”
The US president further indicated support for a change in Iran’s leadership structure, suggesting that Washington would prefer a swift transition rather than a prolonged rebuilding process.
“We don’t want someone who would rebuild over a 10-year period,” Trump stated, adding that he already had ideas about a possible new leader for Iran but declined to disclose any names.
Earlier, Trump had said he would “have to be involved” in the appointment of Iran’s next leader following US–Israeli strikes that reportedly killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, at the start of the conflict on Saturday.
Meanwhile, heavy attacks were reported in Tehran on Friday after Israel announced it was targeting “regime infrastructure” in what it described as a “new phase” of the war launched jointly with the United States against Iran.
