The Pentagon is currently drawing up detailed plans for a potential ground assault on Iran. However, Israel is expected to largely stay out of any open ground involvement in such an operation. The White House has not yet publicly confirmed that President Donald Trump has approved any ground operations.
Even without direct ground involvement, Israel has already played a significant role in shaping conditions for potential ground operation. Gregg Roman, executive director of the Middle East Forum, pointed out that the first three days of the war were crucial for “softening Iranian territory.” He explained that early US-Israel strikes were designed to prepare the ground for future land forces by destroying Iran’s leadership.
According to Middle East Monitor, Israeli defense sources have also reportedly provided the US with critical intelligence on key strategic locations like the Strait of Hormuz and nearby islands, including Kharg Island, as the US prepared for a possible operation in those areas.
Israel’s ground forces are needed at home, not in Iran
Despite these contributions, Israel is not expected to send its own soldiers into open ground combat in Iran. According to The Times of Israel, Blaise Misztal, vice president for policy at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, drew a parallel to Operation Desert Storm in 1991, noting that Israel did not participate in ground operations in Iraq even after sustaining Scud missile attacks.
Misztal believes it is “unlikely that, should there be any US ground operations against Iran, the IDF would participate overtly.” The reasons for Israel staying out this time are different from 1991. Back then, the US asked Israel to step aside to avoid upsetting its Arab coalition partners.
But Misztal emphasized that “This time around, that is not a concern.” The current constraints are mostly operational, not diplomatic. Back in Washington, Trump’s presidency continues to draw scrutiny on multiple fronts, with Marjorie Taylor Greene recently blasting Trump over a controversial pardon sale adding to the political noise surrounding his administration.
Misztal explained that Iran-backed groups on Israel’s borders mean Israeli forces are urgently needed closer to home, to “continue defending against Iranian proxies, however degraded they might be.” This is especially true along Israel’s northern front, where Hezbollah remains a major threat.
Roman echoed this, stating that “Israel is doing its part by fighting on another front of the war, that’s in Lebanon,” adding that “the war is not just against Iran itself. One of the stated aims of the war is to defeat Iran’s proxies.” Currently, five IDF divisions are deployed in southern Lebanon, with a sixth, the elite 98th Division, being prepared for deployment.
Israeli officials have said the IDF aims to establish a demilitarized zone in southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, enforced through surveillance, firepower, and a continuous ground presence. Israeli troops also remain heavily engaged in Gaza, where Hamas still controls roughly half the territory, and in the West Bank, which has seen a rise in settler violence.
While open ground participation seems off the table, covert activities are a different matter. Misztal did not rule out Israeli special forces operating inside Iran in a less visible capacity, suggesting they “might not participate in covert activities in Iran, either in support of or together with their US counterparts.”
Roman also hinted that Israeli involvement inside Iran may already be happening, stating, “If there were not one Israeli soldier in Iranian territory, that would be strategic malpractice.” He pointed to the 12-day war in June 2025, during which “the Mossad actively advertised their operatives’ involvement in taking out forward-based missile launchers.”
Iran has responded to the possibility of a US ground incursion with open threats, with Tehran vowing to “set fire” to US forces if Washington put boots on the ground. Military analysts, including Professor Robert Pape of the University of Chicago, have warned that a ground invasion could be a strategic blunder on the scale of the Vietnam War.
Israel’s expected non-participation in ground operations has also sparked backlash in the US, particularly among America First and anti-war voices, who argue that Washington is being pushed into a costly conflict while Israel refuses to commit its own soldiers.
As public frustration with the administration grows, Stephen King has been challenging Trump’s credibility in a very public way. President Trump has signaled a possible step back from the war, stating that no deal is needed to end the conflict and that Iran won’t be able to obtain a nuclear weapon “for years.”
Published: Apr 1, 2026 10:50 am