President Donald Trumpdid not rule out sending US troops to Iran, but pledged to do so only for a “very good reason” – against a virtually obliterated opponent.
Trump initially said he didn’t want to answer the question, as he flew back to Florida Saturday from Dover Air Force Base on Air Force One.
“Could there be? Possibly for a very good reason,” Trump said when asked about American boots on the ground in Iran.
“And I would say if we ever did that, they would be so decimated that they wouldn’t be able to fight at the ground level.”
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Trump also didn’t rule out using such a force to deal with securing Iranian nuclear material.
“We haven’t talked about it. But it was a total obliteration. They haven’t been able to get to it. And at some point maybe we will. That would be a great thing.”
He called it “something we could do later” if needed.
And as for the length of the mission, Trump was firm.
“Whatever it takes,” he said.
“We’ve wiped out their navy, 44 ships. We’ve wiped out their air force, every plane. We’ve wiped out most of their missiles … We’ve also hit their manufacturing areas where they make the missiles very hard. Their drone capacity is way down.
“And we’ve hurt ‘em where it hurts, including about every form of leadership you can have we’ve wiped out,” he said.
“We’re winning the war by a lot,” the president said, adding, “We decimated their whole evil empire. It’ll continue I’m sure for a little while.”
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