Trump lashes out at reporter’s ‘crazy question’ on putting US troops in Iran as he issues chilling warning: ‘We’ll keep bombing’
President Donald Trump lashed out at a reporter’s ‘crazy’ question about whether the US is intent on sending ground troops into Iran as the White House negotiates with Iranian officials.
Thousands of US Marines were deployed to the Middle East in recent weeks. At least two Marine units, comprised of over 4,500 Marines have reportedly been ordered to head towards Iran.
Trump spoke to reporters as he boarded Air Force One just hours after announcing the US was halting strikes on Iranian energy sites, following Tehran’s opening of peace talks with Washington – a claim Iran has flatly denied.
‘It’s been reported that there are Marines [who] left California, left San Diego last week, at the end of the week. Why are they headed there now?’ the reporter asked.
Around 2,500 Marines aboard three ships were deployed late last week to the Middle East, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. A week prior, the USS Tripoli, carrying over 2,000 Marines, was ordered to head to the Middle East from the Pacific.
Trump immediately shot back: ‘Well, let me ask you this. If you were in my position and I asked you that question, do you really believe I’d give you that? It’s a crazy question.’
The President has repeatedly refused to answer media questions about upcoming military actions in the war, saying that if he did, the operational security of the plans would be compromised.
If those talks go sideways and Iran doesn’t cooperate, Trump said US forces will keep ‘bombing our little hearts out.’
President Donald Trump said on Monday morning that Iranian officials called his administration to begin negotiations to end the war. Iranian officials, meanwhile, have refuted Trump’s claim
At least two US Marine units are currently en route to the Middle East aboard the USS Tripoli and the USS Boxer
Trump said that if Iranian officials do not continue negotiating with US officials the strikes on Iran will continue
The President said Monday morning in a social media post that the US will hold off on striking Iranian energy infrastructure as the two countries look to strike a deal.
Within the hour, Iranian officials swatted down those claims, saying the President and his team were not in contact with their officials.
An Iranian official told Fars News Agency, which is aligned with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, that there is ‘no direct or indirect contact with Trump.’
Markets lurched on Trump’s announcement, initially surging before pulling back. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, swung from $92 a barrel to as high as $103 in chaotic trading.
The Dow swung 700 points before the opening bell and was last up around 1.4 percent.
Trump said he had ordered the Pentagon ‘to postpone any and all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure’ for five days, speaking to Fox Business and CNBC on Monday morning as he sought to soothe markets.
Later in the morning, Trump doubled down.
‘I didn’t call, they called; they want to make a deal.’
Smoke and flames rise at the site of airstrikes on an oil depot in Tehran on March 7, 2026
The White House has not heard from Iran’s new Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, Trump said on Monday
Workers clear rubble from a bombed out building in Tehran on Monday
Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were in talks with Iranian officials on Sunday, the President said.
‘We have had very, very strong talks. We’ll see where they lead. We have major points of agreement… They went, I would say, perfectly. I would say that if they carry through with that, it’ll end that problem, that conflict.’
The US is demanding in the negotiations that Iran give up its ambitions to create a nuclear weapon.
‘We want to see no nuclear bomb, no nuclear weapon — not even close to it — low key on the missiles, we want to see peace in the Middle East. We want the nuclear dust… I think we’re going to get that.’
The President added that Iran had agreed ‘not have nuclear weapons any more,’ though there has not been reporting indicating they have actually created one.
Trump said early on Monday before markets opened that the US would stop bombing Iranian energy infrastructure for five days
US gas prices have surged since the start of the US-Iran war on February 28. The average price for a gallon of regular gas was around $2.90 before the conflict, now it is around $4.00 per gallon
Still, the President reiterated his claim that Iran was on a path to make a nuclear weapon ‘in two weeks’ had the US and Israel not taken military action.
However, the administration has yet to get in contact with the country’s new ayatollah, Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the former leader who was reportedly injured in US strikes.
‘We have not heard from the son,’ Trump told reporters.
Iran has attacked oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz since the US and Israel first struck the country on February 28.
The attacks and subsequent closure of the Strait have caused a global energy crisis.
US gas prices have surged to an average of $4.00 per gallon nationwide, up from $2.90 before the conflict began three weeks ago.
The narrow strait – through which a fifth of the world’s oil flows – remains blocked by the threat of Iranian mines and missiles.
