Senator Tom Cotton slapped down the idea that President Donald Trump wants to send American soldiers to Iran during a Sunday morning appearance on CBS. 

The Arkansas Republican, who chairs the US Senate Intelligence Committee, told Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan that ‘the president has no plan for any kind of large-scale ground force inside of Iran.’

Brennan had asked Cotton if Trump’s warning that there could be ‘American casualties’ in the war meant that ‘the U.S. is putting boots on the ground.’

Cotton responded, ‘No, Margaret, the president has been clear that what we should expect to see is an extended air and naval campaign that’s designed not only to continue to set back Iran’s nuclear ambitions, but most importantly, to destroy its vast missile arsenal.’

‘Many more missiles than the United States and Israel have air defenses combined, as well as the missile launchers and its missile manufacturing capability,’ the Arkansas Republican continued.

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.

Brennan had asked Cotton if Trump’s warning that there could be ‘American casualties’ in the war meant that ‘the U.S. is putting boots on the ground’

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.

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

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.’