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During a Sunday appearance on CBS, Senator Tom Cotton dismissed the notion that President Donald Trump intends to deploy American troops to Iran.
Speaking with Margaret Brennan on “Face the Nation,” the Arkansas Republican and chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee clarified, “The president has no plan for any kind of large-scale ground force inside of Iran.”
Brennan had raised concerns about Trump’s warning of potential “American casualties” in the conflict, questioning whether this implied the U.S. would be deploying ground troops.
Cotton assured, “No, Margaret, the president has been clear that we should anticipate an extensive air and naval campaign. This strategy aims not only to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions but, more importantly, to dismantle its substantial missile arsenal.”
Cotton further elaborated, highlighting that Iran possesses more missiles than the combined air defenses of the United States and Israel, along with a significant number of missile launchers and a robust missile manufacturing capability.
A US official confirmed Sunday that the Pentagon flew four B-2 stealth bombers to unleash dozens of 2000 lb bombs taking out Iran’s underground ballistic missiles.
However, Cotton did note one scenario that could see US troops involved.
‘Now obviously one risk of that kind of campaign is that an aircraft could be shot down, and the president would never leave a pilot behind. So no doubt we have combat search and rescue assets in the region that are prepared to go in and extract any downed pilot,’ he noted’
‘But barring that kind of unusual circumstance, Margaret, the president has no plan for any kind of large-scale ground force inside of Iran,’ he concluded.
Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, on ‘Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan’ on March 1, 2026
This handout picture provided by the office of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shows him during a religious gathering in Tehran on February 19, 2026. He was killed in Operation Epic Fury on Saturday
A screen grab from a video released on U.S. President Donald Trump’s Truth Social account shows Donald Trump making statements regarding combat operations on Iran on February 28, 2026
Cotton also told CNN’s State of the Union host Dana Bash that Iran has crossed red lines.
‘There’s no doubt, though, that Iran is going to continue to target our bases in the region, our Arab friends, and Israel,’ Cotton noted.
That’s why it was so vitally necessary that we put an end to Iran’s 47-year campaign of terror and revolutionary violence once and for all,’ he continued.
Reacting to Trump’s attack on Iran on Saturday, Cotton argued that ‘Iran has waged war against the U.S. for 47 years,’ before providing a slew of examples to back up his argument.
‘The hostage crisis, the Beirut Marine barracks, Khobar Towers, roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan that killed or maimed thousands of American soldiers, the attempted assassination of President Trump,’ Cotton wrote in an X post.
This image provided by US Central Command shows a F-35C Lightning preparing to launch from the USS Abraham Lincoln
US Navy sailors transferring ordnance on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln
An explosion is seen off the coast of Haifa in northern Israel Saturday as Iran retaliated against a joint US-Israel operation that took place Saturday morning
This map charts US and Israel’s strikes on Iranian targets in red and Iran’s retaliatory strikes in Israel, Qatar the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in orange
‘The butcher’s bill has finally come due for the ayatollahs. May God bless and protect our troops on this vital mission of vengeance, and justice, and safety,’ he concluded.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican, called the strikes, ‘a pivotal and necessary operation to protect Americans and American interests.’