Steve Bannon Hesitant About Sending Ground Troops To Iran—A Move That Could Break Trump’s Base The Pentagon is reportedly preparing for a weeks-long ground operation in Iran. An increasing likelihood of ground troops in Iran could be a breaking point for Republicans in their support of President Donald Trump’s military operations there—with Steve Bannon arguing Monday Israeli and Arab troops should be sent instead. Conservative political strategist Steve Bannon, former advisor to US President Donald Trump, speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference in Grapevine northwest of Dallas, Texas, on March 26, 2026. Bannon is the latest prominent voice in Trump’s base to express reservations about sending in ground troops, saying Monday on his podcast “I don’t want to use American kids; let’s use theirs!” referring to troops from Israel and Arab states. Multiple Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., and Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., have also said they wouldn’t support sending troops into Iran, while other influential figures in Trump’s base, including Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly, have openly opposed the war and accused Trump of violating his promise not to enter into any new foreign wars. Bannon has previously acknowledged the political risks for Trump of going to war with Iran, but has urged Trump’s MAGA base to stand behind him nonetheless, telling an audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference last week “you have to be convinced that this is the right thing to do, particularly now that we’re on the eve of potentially the insertion of American combat troops.” His comments Monday come after Trump threatened earlier in the day that if a deal is not reached with Tehran to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. would respond by “blowing up and completely obliterating” Iran’s energy sources and Kharg Island, where it processes and ships the majority of its oil. A takeover of Kharg Island would almost certainly require a ground operation, as would extracting uranium from Iran, another move Trump is weighing, according to thethe Pentagon is preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran, citing unnamed U.S. officials who said it could involve raids by special operations forces and infantry troops.Bannon told the audience at CPAC he believed it was “probably the start of a war,” and encouraged debate on the topic. “The decision going forward is obviously the commander-in-chief’s, but people have to have his back, and you’re only going to do that with full information,” he said, adding, “it’s a debate that has to happen.”Erik Prince, a former Navy SEAL and founder of the private security firm Blackwater, said at CPAC he “counseled as loud as possible against doing this in the first place,” adding that if Trump sends in ground troops, “you will see imagery of burning American warships in the next couple of weeks, and I don’t think people are really prepared for that.” Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., also predicted, “a ground invasion of Iran will make our country poorer and less safe.”Trump evaded giving a direct answer when asked by a reporter Sunday aboard Air Force One if he was considering putting boots on the ground. “I just have lots of alternatives, we have tremendous numbers of ships over there,” Trump said. “Look, I would say just like we’re ahead of schedule on the ballroom, in a much bigger way we’re ahead of schedule with Iran, we’re weeks ahead of schedule.” Trump told reporters on March 20 he was “not putting troops anywhere,” adding, “if I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you.”