PANews reported on March 7th that, according to Jinshi News, sources in the United States stated that President Trump has privately expressed a "strong interest" in deploying US ground troops to Iran. The sources said Trump has discussed the idea of ​​deploying ground troops to Iran with aides and Republican officials. Trump expressed strong interest in the idea, but the focus of the proposed deployment was not on a "large-scale ground invasion of Iran," but rather on "sending a small force of US troops to achieve specific strategic objectives." The sources also stated that Trump has not yet made any decisions or issued any orders regarding ground troops. White House Press Secretary Levitt stated in a statement that day that these sources are not members of the US President's National Security Team.