Israel helped start the war. Now it says it won't send a single soldier if the U.S. invades Iran on the ground. American troops only. Israel will provide airstrikes and intelligence — from a distance.

Israel will not send ground troops to any U.S. operation in Iran, Channel 12 reported March 30. "Israeli soldiers will not be participating on the ground." Israel would provide airstrikes and intelligence only. Any land mission would be American only. The Pentagon is preparing options for weeks-long ground operations.

Israel is fighting on five fronts — Gaza, Lebanon, the West Bank, Iran and Yemen. Its army chief warned of troop shortages nearing "collapse." Instead of Iran, Israel is expanding its ground invasion into southern Lebanon. A joint plan for a Kurdish invasion of Iran collapsed after it leaked to media.

The report sparked backlash in the U.S. Critics argued American troops are being asked to fight a ground war Israel helped start but won't join. Iran warned it would "set fire" to any soldiers who enter. A security expert warned: "The same signals that turned Vietnam from an air war into a ground war are now emerging in Iran."