Former Centcom commander: US military has been working on Iran ground raid plans for years
by Tara Suter - 03/29/26 6:02 PM ET
Retired Gen. Frank McKenzie, the former commander of U.S. Central Command (Centcom), said Sunday that the U.S. military has been working on plans for a ground raid in Iran for years, as President Trump is reportedly considering sending troops into the war.
“Margaret, for many years we’ve considered options along the southern coast of Iran, seizing islands, seizing small bases. Typically raids. And a raid is an operation with a planned withdrawal. You’re not going to stay. But some of those islands you could seize and hold. That would have a couple effects,” McKenzie told CBS News’s Margaret Brennan on “Face the Nation.”
“First of all, it would be profoundly humiliating for Iran and would give us great weight in negotiations. The second, the example of Kharg Island, which everyone talks about, if you seize Kharg Island, you really can shut down the Iranian oil economy completely. And the beauty of seizing it is, you’re not destroying it,” he said.
The Washington Post reported this weekend that the Department of Defense was preparing plans for ground operations lasting for weeks in Iran. The ground operations may involve special operations forces and regular infantry troops undertaking raids, U.S. officials told the Post.
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https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5806811-mckenzie-us-iran-raids/