PODCAST:
March 30, 2026 ~ Chris Renwick, Lloyd Jackson, and Jamie Edmonds speak with Austin Gullett, a former Navy intelligence officer. They discuss the potential for U.S. ground troops in Iran.
IRAN ~ As the U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran continues past one month, both sides are seemingly preparing for a potentially imminent U.S. ground invasion of Iran.
The U.S. has increased its troop presence in the Middle East recently, including 2,500 marines, raising concerns of boots on the ground in Iran. Speculation is particularly focused on Iran’s major oil terminal on Kharg Island, located in the Persian Gulf, after President Donald Trump told The Financial Times that “maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t.”
Iran has remained firm in its posturing against any potential U.S. invasion, with Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf saying in a Sunday statement that “our men are waiting for the arrival of American soldiers on the ground to set fire to them and punish their regional partners forever.”
The death toll in the region continues to rise, with U.S.-Israeli strikes killing over 1,900 people in Iran. Israel’s bombardment of neighboring Lebanon has killed over 1,100 people. Iran’s retaliatory strikes have killed dozens across the region in Kuwait, Israel, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, and Qatar.
