Trump refuses to rule out ground troops in Iran if 'necessary' — says war was US's 'last, best chance to strike'

President Trump declined to rule out the deployment of US ground troops to Iran when pressed by reporters, saying 'I would use them if necessary.' The statement creates a new escalation threshold beyond the current air campaign. Trump framed the military operation as 'our last, best chance to strike' against Iran's nuclear program and military infrastructure, outlining the campaign's objectives as destroying Iranian nuclear and missile capabilities and eliminating the Khamenei-era leadership structure. The Washington Post reported Trump's refusal to rule out ground troops. Trump's 'last, best chance' framing is significant: it acknowledges that any diplomatic resolution after this conflict would presumably leave Iran with some reconstituted military and nuclear capacity, and that the US will not get another window to act without massive political costs. The statement also implicitly addresses the ISW assessment that Iran's strategy is to impose sufficient costs to force a ceasefire before regime change is achieved. Trump is signaling that the US will accept significant costs to complete the campaign's objectives.