U.S. could end Iran military operations ‘right now’ but staying longer

President Donald Trump on Friday said the U.S. could end Iran military operations “right now” and leave Tehran unable to rebuild its military capabilities for a decade.

But that’s not “an acceptable situation,” Trump told MS Now’s Stephanie Ruhle in a phone interview.

“If we left right now, it would take them at least 10 years to rebuild, but rebuild they will,” Trump said in the roughly 15-minute call.

“If we stay longer, they’ll never rebuild,” he said.

Trump’s comments came after multiple news outlets reported that the Pentagon is sending up to 2,500 more Marines to the Middle East from San Diego. It’s the second reported deployment of thousands of U.S. troops to the region in the past week.

Trump said in the Oval Office on Thursday that he would not put boots on the ground in Iran.

Later that same day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “there has to be a ground component” to ensure meaningful regime change in Iran.

Netanyahu appeared to be referring to the Iranian people in his remarks, saying they must ultimately “rise to the moment.” But he added that there are “many possibilities for this ground component.”

Trump, in Friday’s interview with Ruhle, said the U.S. and Israel share “largely similar” goals for Iran.

“The difference is, they live right next door. We don’t. That’s a big difference,” he said.

Netanyahu and Trump have both said Iran’s current leadership is unclear, since so many members of Tehran’s regime — including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — have been killed in airstrikes during the first three weeks of the war.

Khamenei was succeeded by his son, Mojtaba Khamenei. In a statement Friday marking the start of the Persian new year, the new Iranian supreme leader expressed a desire to strengthen Tehran’s ties with its regional neighbors.