The United States is deliberating the potential deployment of around 3,000 elite personnel from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East as conflicts with Iran intensify.
As reported by The New York Times, senior defense officials indicate that high-ranking Pentagon leaders are assessing strategies to send the division's Immediate Response Force, a combat brigade adept at deploying paratroopers and necessary equipment globally within 18 hours.
These forces may assist the ongoing military operations by the US and Israel against Iran, which has now persisted for four weeks. Officials have suggested that the brigade might engage in operations related to Kharg Island, Iran's primary oil export facility, although no definitive orders have been issued as of yet.
Defense officials noted that neither the Pentagon nor US Central Command, which manages military operations in the Middle East, has yet released any deployment directives.
In reaction to the report, the Pentagon informed The Independent that, “Due to operations security, we do not discuss future or hypothetical movements.”
On March 13, President Donald Trump announced that Central Command had carried out what he described as one of the most significant bombing campaigns in the history of the Middle East, effectively targeting every military position in Iran’s key facility, Kharg Island.
Trump later stated on Truth Social that he had opted not to “wipe out” the island’s oil infrastructure for “reasons of decency.”
The president remarked, “However, should Iran, or anyone else, interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider this decision.”
Iran has taken measures to restrict access to the Strait of Hormuz, the vital maritime route between Iran and Oman, warning that it might target ships attempting to navigate through.
President Trump has urged ally nations to assist in securing the shipping lane, although his initial calls reportedly garnered limited support.
The conflict has led to a notable reaction in global oil markets. Brent crude prices recently surged past $119 per barrel, in contrast to the approximately $70 price before the US and Israeli military actions commenced, according to the Associated Press.
Prices subsequently decreased, with Brent crude falling by 11% to $99.94 per barrel on Monday following Trump’s announcement of a five-day halt on planned strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure.
Trump also mentioned on Truth Social that the United States and Iran had engaged in “very good and productive conversations about achieving a total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East” over the weekend.
He emphasized that the delay in further military actions was “dependent on the success of ongoing discussions with Iranian officials.”
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