DONALD Trump is plotting a potential ground assault to topple Iran’s tyrannical mullahs, as US-Israeli forces blitzed a regime nuclear site.
Pentagon chiefs have drawn up plans to deploy troops to the rogue state in an effort to eliminate its nuclear capabilities and seize Kharg Island, Iran’s key oil terminal in the Gulf.
And bombs rained down on Iran‘s Natanz uranium-enrichment facility this morning, one of the main targets during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June.
Trump has been weighing up ground attack plans, but has also said he is considering “winding down” the Middle East campaign.
The US president has been cagey about the use of infantry in recent days, as 2,500 marines make their way to the war zone.
Analysts warned putting boots on the ground on Kharg island – 15 miles off the Iranian coast – would be a huge gamble risking massive casualties.
“No, I’m not putting troops anywhere,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday.
But he was quick to add: “If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement: “It’s the job of the Pentagon to make preparations in order to give the Commander in Chief maximum optionality.
“It does not mean the President has made a decision.”
A source with knowledge of White House thinking told Axios: “We need about a month to weaken the Iranians more with strikes, take the island and then get them by the balls and use it for negotiations.”
Three Marine units are on their way to the region but reinforcements will be needed if Trump green lights the plan.
The source added: “He wants Hormuz open. If he has to take Kharg Island to make it happen, that’s going to happen. If he decides to have a coastal invasion, that’s going to happen.
“But that decision hasn’t been made.
“We’ve always had boots on the ground in conflicts under every president, including Trump.”
The Sun last week exclusively told how Navy Seals, assault submarines and stealth helicopters will be preparing for the sign off on the “dangerous” mission – and cut off the murderous regime’s economic jugular once and for all.
Meanwhile, the mad mullahs continue to ramp up global economic chaos by attacking their neighbours’ energy plants.
Iran has blitzed ships passing through the vital Strait of Hormuz – through which 20% of the world’s oil passes – prompting hurried plans to reopen the waterway through force.
The regime has maintained an effective blockade over it for weeks now causing fuel prices to soar and threatening an inflation crisis in the UK.
Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, has risen to $112 (£84) a barrel, up from $73 (£55) on the eve of the conflict.
Keir Starmer finally acceded to US requests to use the Diego Garcia military base in the Indian Ocean on Friday.
Trump blasted the UK for their “very late response” in granting access, adding “this has never happened before”.
Diego Garcia was then targeted by two Iranian ballistic missiles after the regime issued a chilling warning that “British lives are at risk”.
Neither Iranian missile hit the base, which is around 2,500 miles from its territory, but the attack suggests that they have a longer range than previously thought.
One of the rockets was targeted by an interceptor fired from an American warship while the other failed in flight, US sources told the Wall Street Journal.
Downing Street blasted the “reckless” attack, accusing Iran of “lashing out across the region and holding to ransom the Strait of Hormuz”.
