Trump says sending US ground troops into Iran would be ‘waste of time’
President Donald Trump said it would be a “waste of time” to consider sending United States ground troops into Iran amid the ongoing conflict involving the US, Israel and the Islamic republic.
Trump made the remark during a telephone interview with NBC News on Thursday, dismissing a warning by Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, that any US or Israeli ground invasion would spell disaster 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, adding that Araghchi’s comment about Iran being prepared for a ground invasion was a “wasted comment.”
The US president also indicated that he supports the removal of Iran’s current leadership structure following the escalating conflict.
“We want to go in and clean out everything quickly. We don’t want someone who would rebuild over a 10-year period,” he said, noting that he had ideas for a possible new leader for Iran but declined to reveal any names.
Trump had earlier stated that he would “have to be involved” in the appointment of Iran’s next leader after US-Israeli strikes reportedly killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, when hostilities began on Saturday.
Meanwhile, heavy attacks were reported in Tehran on Friday after Israel announced it was targeting what it described as “regime infrastructure” in a new phase of the war launched jointly with the United States against Iran.
