Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has said the US will do whatever it takes to bring down the Iranian government, hinting at the possibility of sending troops to the ground if needed.
Speaking to CBS News contributor Major Garrett in a sit-down on Monday, Hegseth said, "We’re willing to go as far as we need in order to be successful."
Pointing out that the US reservees the right, Hegseth said, "We would be completely unwise if we did not reserve the right to take any particular option, whether it included boots on the ground or not boots on the ground."
This comes a day after Trump suggested the same. However, Hegseth said the administration might not share it publicly with the press if and when the US deploys forces on the ground.
"People ask, ‘boots on the ground, no boots on the ground, four weeks, two weeks, six weeks? Go in, go in'," he said. "President Trump knows – I know – you don’t tell the enemy, you don’t tell the press, you don’t tell anybody what your limits would be on an operation."
Trump had earlier refused to rule out sending American forces to Iran while hinting that the option remains open.
Speaking aboard Air Force One, he told reporters, "We haven’t talked about it. At some point maybe we will. It would be a great thing. Right now we’re just decimating them."
He pointed out that the US may finalise the decision at a later stage and signalled that they might look at securing enriched uranium allegedly stored at nuclear sites in Iran.
When asked about how long the war would last, Trump said, "Whatever it takes".
