MAGA-aligned U.S. Representative Pete Sessions (R-TX), a member of the House Oversight Committee, resisted committing to a clear definition of what it means to have U.S. “boots on the ground” in Iran. During a recent CNN interview, the Congressman advanced a notion that a limited number of American troops entering Iran would not qualify as “boots on the ground,” as that term is commonly understood.
In a statement that had echoes of then-Vice President Dick Cheney’s 2003 assertion that American troops would be “greeted as liberators” when they arrived in Iraq after a massive (“Shock and Awe”) bombing campaign, Sessions said that he didn’t think American troops entering Iran to secure its oil facilities as part of “Operation Epic Fury” would face “enemy combatants.”
[Note: President Trump on Monday told reporters that he is considering further strikes to Kharg Island, an island 15 miles off Iran’s coast in the Persian Gulf, which handles up to 90% of Iran’s oil exports. The USS Tripoli and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), approximately 2,500 to 3,000 personnel, has reportedly been deployed to the region.]
When Sessions was asked, “So it’s not boots on the ground but a large number of boots on the ground that you would oppose?” Sessions replied, “No…I really want to make this point, when we think about boots on the ground we think going back to Somalia, we think going back to Iraq, we think about going to Afghanistan, that is not what we’re talking about, or at least I am.” He added, “I’m talking about to secure this facility, the oil facilities, which are in everyone’s best interest.”
When pressed for a definition of “boots on the ground” — isn’t deploying U.S. soldiers to Kharg island considered boots on the ground? — Sessions said: “You’re entitled to your opinion but my point is I don’t think they’re facing enemy combatants when they secure oil facilities.”
BOLDUAN: But you know that other people, when they are sending their loved ones overseas, they will think that deploying to Kharg island is boots on the ground
REP. PETE SESSIONS: You’re entitled to your opinion but my point is I don’t think they are facing enemy combatants when… pic.twitter.com/aLDxyidF9A
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 17, 2026
Political pundit influencer “Just Jack” replied to Sessions’ comments: “Iran has been searching for US targets all over the Middle East. It’s criminally asinine to claim they won’t go after any troops we send into their territory. To control their oil.” Frequent X commenter Bill DeMayo, a Trump antagonist, also replied, “Why do they think they can take Kharg and its refineries? The Iranians will light that entire island on fire if they even sniff Americans coming for it.”
Democrats in Congress are largely opposed to potential U.S. ground troop deployment in Iran, citing risks of regional escalation, lack of clear goals, and constitutional overreach. After attending a classified Iran war briefing for the Senate Armed Services Committee last week, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said: “I emerge from this briefing as dissatisfied and angry, frankly, as I have from any past briefing in my 15 years.”
He added: “I am most concerned about the threat to American lives of potentially deploying our sons and daughters on the ground in Iraq. We seem to be on a path toward deploying American troops on the ground in Iran to accomplish any of the potential objectives here.” Blumenthal publicly asked the administration to “provide a coherent strategy.”
The Trump Admin was dismissive of my fear that American troops might be deployed in Iran combat, but that’s what U.S. Marines do. Bombing alone—no matter how effective—won’t achieve or clarify the Admin’s objectives. Or open the Strait of Hormuz. Or provide a coherent strategy. https://t.co/UCm2ZdFwCr
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) March 14, 2026
Talking about his plans for Kharg Island, which the U.S. has already bombed, Trump previously told PBS correspondent Liz Landers, in an interview that was praised by the White House, “I left a lot of infrastructure in Tehran because if you did it, it’s years of building…I could knock out the electric plants in one hour… but if I do that, that’s years of rebuilding and it’s trauma. So I’m trying to hold off on that kind of thing.”