Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that dismantling the Islamic Republic of Iran and achieving genuine regime change would require a "ground component," marking the first time an Israeli or American official has publicly suggested a ground invasion as part of the 21-day-old war. Netanyahu, whose remarks were reported by CNBC, PBS NewsHour, and GB News, said the Iranian regime is at its "weakest point" after three weeks of airstrikes and added that the Iranian people must "rise to the moment."

U.S. President Donald Trump moved quickly to distance himself from the remarks. Speaking separately to reporters, Trump said: "I'm not putting troops anywhere," a statement carried by CNN, CNBC, and NPR. The public contradiction between the two war partners was notable, analysts said, because the U.S. and Israel had previously maintained unified public messaging throughout the conflict.

Options being discussed within Israeli military circles, according to reporting by GB News and PBS NewsHour citing Israeli officials, include deploying forces to Iran's Kharg Island — which handles roughly 90 percent of Iran's oil exports — and potentially securing stockpiles of highly enriched uranium to prevent their dispersal. Neither option has been formally proposed to the United States, officials said.

The ground-invasion question has divided analysts on both sides of the American political aisle. Conservative commentators cited by Fox News have said that airstrikes alone may be insufficient to achieve the administration's stated goal of eliminating Iran's nuclear program and destabilizing the IRGC. Progressive analysts cited by NPR and The Atlantic warned that any ground operation would risk a protracted insurgency analogous to Iraq, with potentially catastrophic costs.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated Friday that the United States has no plans to deploy ground forces. The statement did not address whether the U.S. had ruled out supporting an Israeli ground operation logistically.