Did Pete Hegseth just lay the groundwork for deploying US troops to Iran?

NewsWorldAmericasUS politicsAnalysisDid Pete Hegseth just lay the groundwork for deploying US troops to Iran?Donald Trump has struck a temporary ceasefire with Iran. But his top warmongerer-in-chief may have just laid out the permission structure for boots on the ground, writes John BowdenFriday 10 April 2026 14:22 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2954940","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/hegseth-iran-ground-troops-boots-b2954940.html","title":"Did Pete Hegseth just lay the groundwork for deploying US troops to Iran?"},"popoverPlacementOverride":"bottom"}CloseVance makes weird skydiving wife analogy as he discusses Iranian ceasefire demandsSign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailGet our free Inside Washington emailEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_INSIDE_WASHINGTON","regTitle":"Inside Washington","subscriptionGroup":"inside_washington","subscriptionGroupId":"af764e04-87eb-45e6-a84b-a7455ba70a1e","type":"inside_washington","pathPrefix":"/news/world/americas/us-politics","associatedAuthors":["Eric Garcia","John Bowden"],"title":"Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox","mobileTitle":"Get our free Inside Washington email","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/insideWashington1_1.png","label":"I would like to receive morning headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts by email","newsletterKey":"receiveInsideWashingto...