Pentagon to Order 3,000 82nd Airborne Soldiers to Middle East [View all]

Source: The Wall Street Journal

The Pentagon is planning to deploy a brigade combat team from the Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East to support operations against Iran, according to two U.S. officials.

A written order to deploy the unit, made up of roughly 3,000 soldiers, is expected in the coming hours, the officials said.

The 82nd Airborne’s combat brigade serves as the Army’s emergency response force and can be deployed anywhere in the world in under 24 hours. They train to parachute into hostile or contested territory to secure airfields and land. The brigade would be deployed along with the division headquarters, which is responsible for planning and coordination, the officials said.

A decision to put boots on the ground in Iran hasn’t been made, officials cautioned. But the movement of the 82nd opens the door for President Trump to try to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by force, seize Iran’s strategic islands or coastline or launch a mission to capture the regime’s highly enriched uranium should he choose to do so.

Read more: https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/iran-war-us-israel-news-updates-2026/card/pentagon-to-order-3-000-82nd-airborne-soldiers-to-middle-east-3H7VxKvxkaorsOLcRt5g