FILE - An 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper participates in artillery training during a field exercise at Fort Bragg, N.C., on Aug. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Sarah Blake Morgan, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military is preparing to deploy at least 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East in the coming days, according to three people with knowledge of the plans.
The unit is considered the Army’s emergency response force and can typically be deployed on short notice. The force would include a battalion of the 1st Brigade Combat Team as well as Maj. Gen. Brandon Tegtmeier, the division’s commander, and division staff, according to the people, who spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans or private conversations.
It’s the latest addition of American troops to the Iran war effort after U.S. officials recently said thousands of Marines aboard several Navy ships will be heading to the region.
While the Marine units are trained in missions that include supporting U.S. embassies, evacuating civilians and disaster relief, the soldiers of the 82nd Airborne, based at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, are trained to parachute into hostile or contested territory to secure key territory and airfields.
When asked about the deployment, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly deferred to the Pentagon but noted that “President Trump always has all military options at his disposal.”
Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee are scheduled to receive a classified briefing from Pentagon officials Wednesday on Capitol Hill where the potential deployment is expected to be discussed, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The New York Times earlier reported the possible deployment of the 82nd Airborne to the Middle East.
U.S. officials previously have said the Japan-based USS Tripoli and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit had been ordered to the Middle East — shifting them from exercises near Taiwan.
They also confirmed that the Navy has rushed to deploy a set of ships carrying a rapid-response Marine force to the Middle East from their home post of San Diego.
The pair of Marine Expeditionary Units will add about 5,000 Marines and thousands of sailors to the region, where the U.S. already has about 50,000 troops.
The troops are being added just as the Trump administration says it has begun negotiations with Iran to end the war. Pakistan offered to host diplomatic talks, but Iran has denied that any negotiations are taking place.
While speaking Tuesday at the White House, Trump said the U.S. is “in negotiations right now” and his envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner are involved in the talks, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance.
“We have a number of people doing it,” Trump said. “And the other side, I can tell you, they’d like to make a deal.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s office said he has been discussing the war this week with several counterparts. But Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, denied Trump’s claim of direct talks, and an Iranian military spokesman issued a newly defiant statement vowing to fight “until complete victory.”
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