Most believe Trump will send US troops into Iran: Survey

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The Hill's Headlines — March 20, 2026

The Hill's Headlines — March 20, 2026

Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe President Trump will send U.S. ground troops to Iran as the Middle East conflict rages on, despite Trump saying the opposite, according to a new survey.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll, released Thursday, found that while some 65 percent of U.S. adults think Trump will eventually order troops into a large ground-scale invasion, few back such escalation.

Just 7 percent of respondents said they support sending troops into a ground war with Iran, compared to 55 percent who said they do not. Roughly one-third of respondents said they support putting only special forces on the ground, according to the survey.

The numbers also show widespread opposition to a full-scale invasion across the political spectrum, with only 14 percent of Republicans, 3 percent of Democrats and 4 percent of independents backing the idea.

While most Democrats and independent respondents do not support sending any U.S. troops into Iran, 63 percent of Republicans appeared open to the prospect of special forces entering the Middle East nation, the survey found.

As U.S. and Israeli strikes and Iran’s retaliatory campaign escalate, Reuters reported on Thursday that Trump is weighing deploying thousands of U.S. service members to reinforce the military operation in the region.

The administration is mulling using air and naval forces for a mission to secure safe passage for oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime chokepoint that has been effectively closed since the early days of the war, according to the outlet.

Sources also told Reuters that there have been discussions about sending ground troops to Kharg Island, Iran’s primary oil export terminal in the Gulf. The possibility of deploying U.S. forces to secure Tehran’s stocks of highly enriched uranium is also reportedly being considered.

The Pentagon is additionally requesting $200 billion in supplemental funding from Congress to support its ongoing operations in the Middle East, but Trump insisted Thursday that he was “not putting troops anywhere.”

“If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you,” he told reporters at the White House, before adding that the U.S. “will do whatever’s necessary to keep the price” of oil down. 

Another Ipsos poll released earlier this week found that the bulk of the American public holds negative views of U.S. military strikes against Iran, which have targeted Tehran’s leadership, nuclear program and missile capabilities.

The U.S. has struck more than 7,000 targets across Iran and its military infrastructure since the conflict began on Feb. 28, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The same poll indicated that Americans are widely skeptical that sustained military action in Iran will improve the security of the U.S. over the long run, and about eight in 10 are concerned about the risks to the lives of U.S. military personnel.  

At least 13 U.S. servicemembers have been killed, and approximately 200 others have been wounded in the conflict, according to figures provided by the Pentagon. 

The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted among 1,545 U.S. adults from March 17-19 and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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