Bombshell Report Says Trump ‘Leaning Toward’ Ground Operation In Iran, Citing Mediating Country Official

FILE – President Donald Trump stands with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on his visit to the White House, Nov. 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

President Donald Trump is reportedly “leaning toward ordering a major US ground operation against Iran,” according to an official from one of the countries mediating between the US and Iran.

The Times of Israel reported the stunning development on Thursday as the official told the outlet that Washington is supposedly “convinced Tehran will buckle under such military pressure.”

Jacob Magid, the Times of Israel’s US bureau chief, added in his report:

The official intimately familiar with the mediation efforts says the US privately recognizes that Iran is not likely to agree to the concessions presented in Washington’s 15-point plan and has dispatched thousands of troops to the region in order to capture Tehran’s Kharg Island on Trump’s orders.

A second official from a mediating country warns that while the US may be able to capture the island, holding onto it for an extended period of time will require many more soldiers and an extended period of fighting — far beyond the four-to-six week window that Washington has told the public that the war would last. While Saturday will be the four-week mark, the US still claims to be well ahead of schedule.

On Wednesday, three Republicans in Congress, including chairs of the House and Senate Armed Services committees, strongly suggested that the Pentagon is preparing for a ground operation in Iran, possibly to take Kharg Island.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) went on a tirade on social media on Wednesday while heavily hinting that she walked out of the briefing as the Pentagon was suggesting Trump is preparing to deploy boots on the ground, which she said she will oppose.

“Washington’s war machine is hard at work. They are try [sic] to drag us into Iran to make it another Iraq. We can’t let them,” Mace posted following the briefing.

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