Weekend Report: Trump is readying a ground invasion of Iran

Trump’s doubled the number troops sent. He’s refusing to say it’s not happening, as he’s unable to end the war. Hegseth, meanwhile, is leading what is a religious crusade, led by “King Jesus.”

Just a few weeks ago, when this war in Iran began, many in the media and punditocracy dismissed the idea that Trump would send ground troops into Iran. He liked short, “clean” missions, we were told, like Venezuela or the previous bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities. But that thinking negated the fact that even those missions were a brazen escalation compared to Trump’s first term. Now, with the planning of this war having been bungled, Trump sees no end in sight and is getting desperate.

The number of troops being sent to the region has doubled in recent days. There’s talk of taking Kharg Island, where Iran operates both military and oil facilities, and Trump himself is giving hints about US troops being deployed to open up the Strait of Hormuz. The administration is now supplying weapons to Kuwait, Qatar, and other countries in the region, clearly escalating the war. The strategy might mean having troops seize an Iranian city on the strait, Bandar Abas—population 500,000—an exceedingly dangerous operation that could cause the deaths of thousands of civilians and military members on both sides.

The so-called Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, sees it all as a Christian nationalist religious crusade against Islam, having prayed to “King Jesus” in the White House last month and believing there will be few losses and that American service members will be spared, saying recently that “the providence of our almighty God is there protecting those troops, and we’re committed to this mission.” Much of the Trump evangelical base is behind him on this “holy war.”