Trump signals possible ground troops in Iran, says he has "no jitters"

[Financial News]

Donald John Trump, President of the United States, suggested that ground troops could be deployed in a war with the Islamic Republic of Iran, on the condition that it is "if necessary." A ground deployment would in effect signal a full-scale war with the Islamic Republic of Iran aimed at regime change.
In an interview with the New York Post on the 2nd (local time), President Trump said he has no "yips" or jitters about sending in ground forces. He noted that previous presidents consistently declared, "There will be no ground troops," and then added, "I am not going to say that."
On the 28th of last month, Trump ordered a massive air campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran in coordination with the State of Israel. The day before this interview, he had said the war with Iran could last about four weeks.
On that same day, international oil prices jumped 7%, and natural gas prices soared 50% after the State of Qatar halted gas production. Even so, Trump made clear his determination to "continue the war until the objectives are achieved."
In his interview with the New York Post, he went a step further by refusing to rule out the use of ground troops. "We probably won’t need ground troops," Trump said, "but if they are needed, we can send them in."
In an interview with the Daily Mail the previous day, Trump had said the war with Iran might last around four weeks. In the latest remarks, he suggested the duration could in fact be shorter.
He said the current operation is running well ahead of schedule and added, "It’s going to proceed very quickly." Trump continued, "Things are going according to plan, and from the standpoint of taking out the (Iranian) leadership, we are ahead of schedule, having killed 49 people," claiming, "We achieved in a single day what we had initially set as a minimum four-week objective."
He also said he is not worried about possible terrorist retaliation by the Islamic Republic of Iran against Americans.
“Whatever it is, we will take it out,” Trump said, adding, “We will deal with that just like we deal with everything else.”
He explained that the final decision to launch the airstrikes was made after the last round of talks with the Islamic Republic of Iran in Geneva, Switzerland, on the 26th of last month. He added that intelligence reports indicating Iran had secretly restarted its nuclear program also played a part.
Trump said the negotiations had been serious, but that in the end Iran walked away. "They wanted to build nuclear weapons, so we completely destroyed that capability," he explained.
He went on to say that after airstrikes last June completely destroyed Iran’s nuclear facilities, Tehran resumed work "in a completely different location." In the end, he said, he gave the order: "Let’s go."
Trump insisted that he had done the right thing and claimed that most Americans support him. He added that if the situation had been left alone, "madmen" would have acquired nuclear weapons, leading to a scenario far more serious than a regional conflict.
Regarding a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on the 1st showing that only 27% of Americans support the strikes, Trump said, "I don’t care," and added, "I have to do what is right." He declared, "Whether the poll numbers are low or not, we cannot allow Iran, led by madmen, to possess nuclear weapons."
Trump also argued that, although it may not show up in the polls, a silent majority is likely backing the operation.
dympna@fnnews.com Song Kyung-jae Reporter