Three weeks into a war that has already seen more than 7,800 U.S. strikes against Iranian targets, the Trump administration is now considering its next steps — and those could include U.S. boots on the ground inside Iran itself. The administration is considering deploying thousands more troops to the Middle East as it prepares for a potential escalation in what the Pentagon has dubbed Operation Epic Fury, according to a Reuters report, citing one US official and three people familiar with the matter.
Negotiations remain at the stage of considering options and no decision has been taken on deployment. But their scale, from naval operations on one of the world’s most strategically important waterways to ground missions deep inside Iranian territory, signals that the White House is thinking beyond the air and missile campaign that has so far defined the conflict.
Strait of Hormuz: Network point at the center of everything
Among the options being actively discussed is a mission to ensure safe passage for oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway through which much of the world’s seaborne oil supplies pass. The strait effectively closed under threat from Iran’s military, sending oil prices soaring and global energy markets reeling.
Securing the strait would rely primarily on air and naval forces, according to Reuters sources. But four people familiar with the matter, including two U.S. officials, said achieving meaningful control could also require the deployment of U.S. troops to Iran’s coast, a prospect that would represent a significant and politically explosive escalation.
In recent days, Trump has openly expressed frustration with US allies for their reluctance to help secure the route, while insisting that Washington does not need outside help.
Kharg Island: 90% hub that could change the war
Perhaps the most important option under discussion is a possible ground operation targeting Kharg Island, the hub through which an estimated 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports flow. Three people familiar with the matter and three U.S. officials told Reuters the administration had discussed sending ground forces to the island — though at least one official acknowledged such a mission would be “very risky” given Iran’s proven ability to strike the island with missiles and drones.
On March 13, the US military carried out strikes against military targets on Kharg Island, and Trump has separately threatened to attack Iran’s wider oil infrastructure. However, military analysts suggest that control of the island – rather than its destruction – could be seen as a more strategically and economically rational option, given its outsized role in Iran’s economy.
Securing Iran’s Enriched Uranium: A Mission of Exceptional Complexity
The discussions go beyond oil infrastructure. One person familiar with the matter told Reuters the administration has also explored the possibility of deploying US forces to secure Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium – a mission experts describe as extremely complex and dangerous, even for elite special operations forces.
The prospect raises deep strategic and non-proliferation questions. Stockpiles of enriched uranium are dispersed, heavily guarded, and in some cases located in hardened facilities. Securing them under combat conditions without causing a wider disaster would be among the most challenging missions in modern military history.
White House Talks Iran War – Carefully
A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, dismissed any suggestion that decisions had been made, while making it clear that all options remained on the table: “At this point, no decision has been made to send ground troops, but President Trump is wisely keeping all options open. The president is focused on achieving all of the defined objectives of Operation Epic Fury: to destroy Iran’s ballistic missiles and destabilize their navy, to secure their navy, by proxy, to ensure that Iran never cannot possess a nuclear weapon.”
The scale of the US campaign in Iran so far
The sheer volume of military activity already underway is staggering. Since the start of the war on Feb. 28, the U.S. military has conducted more than 7,800 strikes against Iranian targets, damaging or destroying more than 120 Iranian vessels, according to a tally released by U.S. Central Command — the command that oversees the roughly 50,000 U.S. troops currently deployed in the Middle East. The campaign targeted Iran’s navy, its missile and drone arsenals, and its defense industrial base.
The Political Risk of US Ground Forces in Iran
Any deployment of ground forces in Iran – even limited or narrowly defined – would pose significant domestic political risk to Trump. Public support for the Iran campaign was limited, and the president campaigned expressly on a promise to keep the United States out of new Middle East conflicts. Crossing the threshold from airstrikes to ground operations would prompt immediate and intense scrutiny from both Congress and the public.
Sources familiar with the discussion told Reuters they did not believe the deployment of ground forces anywhere inside Iran was imminent.
Trump Suspends Jones Act to Stabilize Oil Markets
While military options are debated behind closed doors, the economic impact of the war is already shaping domestic politics. Trump issued a 60-day waiver of the Jones Act — a 1920 law that requires goods transported between U.S. ports to be carried on U.S.-flagged vessels — in an effort to stabilize oil markets rocked by the conflict. The White House confirmed the decision to CNBC on Wednesday.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the temporary suspension “will allow vital resources such as oil, natural gas, fertilizer and coal to flow freely to America’s ports for sixty days,” adding that the administration “remains committed to continuing to strengthen our critical supply chains.”
Oil prices have risen sharply since the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 3.83 percent to close at $107.38 a barrel on Wednesday, while U.S. crude ended the day almost unchanged at $96.32.
Economists have noted the practical limitations of this measure. Daleep Singh, chief global economist at asset manager PGIM, pointed to a structural mismatch between US refining capacity and domestic oil production: “In other words: the US can move fuel more easily now, but it still can’t refine enough of what it produces to be self-sufficient.” There are fewer than 100 Jones Act-compliant vessels, meaning the exemption opens the door for many more international tankers to transport fuel between US ports.
Naval task forces are pushing hard
The move drew immediate fire from the maritime industry. A coalition of nine U.S. maritime task forces issued a joint statement Wednesday warning that the broad exemption “undermines our national security, weakens military readiness, and hands critical maritime work to foreign vessel operators.”
The groups also disputed the premise that suspending the law would significantly ease the pressure on the gas pump: “It has become clear that the primary driver of gasoline prices remains the global cost of oil, and numerous analyzes show that domestic shipping represents less than one cent per gallon.”
The tension between the administration’s emergency economic measures and the political backlash they generate underscores the broader bond Trump faces: a war that is reshaping global energy markets, straining alliances and testing the limits of what the American public — and American law — will support.
