US skips ground war in Iran, betting on air and naval strikes
US aims to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions and destroy its missiles (photo: Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump has no plan for a ground operation in Iran, with Washington instead relying on a prolonged air and naval campaign, Republican Senator Tom Cotton reported in his interview with CBS News.
Read also: US and Israel hit Iran hard: Is this a war to destroy the regime?
"The president has no plan for any kind of large scale ground force inside of Iran… The president has been clear that what we should expect to see is an extended air and naval campaign," Senator Cotton said.
He explained that the operations are not only aimed at further containing Iran's nuclear ambitions but, more importantly, at destroying the country's massive missile arsenal.
"(Iran has – ed.) many more missiles than the United States and Israel have air defenses combined, as well as the missile launchers and its missile manufacturing capability," the senator summarized.
Middle East conflict
On February 28, Israel and the United States conducted a new strike on Iran, despite what had seemed like the end of hostilities in June 2025.
According to President Trump's comments, the decision followed failed negotiations over a nuclear agreement.
The US and Israeli strikes targeted not only military facilities but also top Iranian leadership. Tehran officially confirmed overnight that it lost Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the attack on his residence, along with other high-ranking officials. US President Trump was the first to publicly announce Khamenei's death.
In response, Iran declared the start of an unprecedented military retaliation, while Trump warned of an unprecedented strike in the event of further escalation or new assaults.
Fighting between the sides is ongoing.
