JUST IN: Pentagon ‘Making Heavy Preparations’ For Potential Ground Operation, Report Says

Pentagon brass are quietly prepping for a potential U.S. ground invasion of Iran, even as President Donald Trump insists he’s not sending troops, according to multiple sources cited by CBS News.

Senior military leaders have already submitted detailed requests outlining what it would take to put American boots on the ground as Trump weighs his next move in the escalating U.S.-Israel showdown with Tehran, the sources told CBS.

Behind the scenes, the president has been considering whether to position ground forces in the region, though it remains unclear what conditions would trigger that call, according to the report.

“No, I’m not putting troops anywhere,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday when pressed on the possibility. “If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you.”

Officials at U.S. Central Command declined to comment, directing questions back to the White House and Pentagon.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stressed that contingency planning does not equal a final decision.

“It’s the job of the Pentagon to make preparations in order to give the Commander in Chief maximum optionality, it does not mean the President has made a decision, and as the President said in the Oval Office yesterday, he is not planning to send ground troops anywhere at this time.”

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Still, the military is moving fast to prepare for worst-case scenarios. Planning sessions have already covered what to do if Iranian troops or paramilitary fighters are captured, including where detainees would be held, two sources said.

The Pentagon is also preparing to deploy elements of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, a rapid-response force often used in high-risk operations.

The buildup doesn’t stop there. The plans also tap the Army’s Global Response Force and a Marine Expeditionary Unit, signaling a broad readiness push across multiple branches.

Thousands of Marines are already on the move. Three warships carrying roughly 2,200 Marines left California earlier this week, marking the second such deployment since the conflict began, according to two U.S. officials. Another unit dispatched from the Pacific is still en route, and it could take weeks before both are fully in position.

Taken together, the moves show a Pentagon intent on giving Trump every military option on the table, even as the administration maintains a cautious, noncommittal public posture.

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