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U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Friday that it would be a "waste of time" to consider sending U.S. ground troops into Iran, saying Tehran has already lost its military capacity, as Iran's foreign minister declared his country was "confident" it could confront a potential ground invasion.
"It's a waste of time. They've lost everything. They've lost their navy. They've lost everything they can lose," Trump told NBC News by telephone.
Trump dismissed Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's warning that a deployment of foreign troops would spell disaster for the invaders as a "wasted comment."
He also indicated he wants to see Iran's leadership structure removed.
"We want to go in and clean out everything" quickly, Trump said.
"We don't want someone who would rebuild over a 10-year period." He added that he had ideas for a new leader but declined to name anyone.
The White House recently confirmed that ground troops were not part of the current strategy. "Well, they're not part of the plan for this operation at this time," spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine declined to address the issue directly.
"I'm not going to comment on U.S. boots on the ground. I think that's a question for policymakers. And I don't make policy, I execute policy," Caine said at the Pentagon.
Leavitt said the U.S. was moving toward "complete and total control" of Iranian airspace, with more than 2,000 targets struck.
She also said Trump intended to attend the dignified transfer of six U.S. service members killed in the conflict "to stand in grief alongside their families."
Araghchi struck a defiant tone in a video interview with NBC News when asked if he feared a U.S. ground invasion. "No, we are waiting for them," he said.
"Because we are confident that we can confront them, and that would be a big disaster for them," the Iranian foreign minister noted.
Araghchi said Iran had not asked for a ceasefire.
He said Iran did not seek a ceasefire previously and that it was Israel that requested one, referring to the 12-day war last June, when Israel asked for an unconditional ceasefire after Iran resisted its aggression.
Araghchi stated that he had not had any communication with Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, or son-in-law, Jared Kushner, since the previous week.
"The fact is that we don't have any positive experience of negotiating with the United States. Especially with this administration. We negotiated twice last year and this year, and then in the middle of negotiations, they attacked us," he said.
"So, we see no reason why we should engage once again with those who are not honest in negotiation, and do not enter into negotiation in good faith," he added.
Despite his defiant posture, Araghchi acknowledged the broader conflict was unlikely to produce a clear victor. "There is no winner in this war," he said.
"Our win is to be able to resist against the illegal goals, and this is what we have done so far," he noted.
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The United States and Israel launched military strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and top officials.
More than 1,000 people have been killed. Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel and Gulf countries hosting U.S. assets.
Six U.S. service members have been killed.
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