It will be difficult to topple the Iranian regime with only an air campaign and no ground forces, according to experts.

While the U.S. military currently has no troops on the ground, both President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth have left the door open to such a decision. Through one week, the United States and Israel have hit thousands of targets and killed dozens of Iranian senior leaders, but they maintain broad control of the country so far. Speculation about ground troops being deployed to Iran reached a crescendo on Friday when the U.S. Army canceled a training exercise for the elite 82nd Airborne Division, stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.