U.S. officials are preparing to send at least 1,000 troops from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, an Associated Press report said Tuesday, citing three people familiar with the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters. The people said the deployment was expected to begin in the coming days and described it as part of a broader buildup connected to the Iran war.
The 82nd Airborne Division, based at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, is considered the Army’s emergency response force and can typically be deployed on short notice, according to the AP report. The force, the people said, would include a battalion from the 1st Brigade Combat Team and would involve Maj. Gen. Brandon Tegtmeier and division staff.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly did not confirm details about the deployment when asked. She deferred to the Pentagon but noted that “President Trump always has all military options at his disposal,” the AP report said.
The AP report also said members of the Senate Armed Services Committee were scheduled to receive a classified briefing from Pentagon officials on Wednesday on Capitol Hill, where the potential deployment was expected to be discussed. A U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly also spoke on condition of anonymity.
The move would mark another step in adding U.S. ground forces to the region after officials said earlier that thousands of Marines aboard several Navy ships were headed to the Middle East. Those Marines, the AP reported, were expected to be added through two Marine Expeditionary Units that together would increase the force by about 5,000 Marines and thousands of sailors, in an area where the U.S. already has about 50,000 troops.
The AP report said the Marines are trained for missions that include supporting U.S. embassies, evacuating civilians and disaster relief. By contrast, it said the 82nd Airborne’s training focuses on parachuting into hostile or contested territory to secure key territory and airfields.
The deployment comes as the Trump administration has said it began negotiations with Iran to end the war, the AP report said. It cited Pakistan’s earlier offer to host talks, and said Iran has denied that any negotiations were taking place.
Speaking at the White House, Trump said the U.S. was “in negotiations right now” and that his envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner were involved, 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.”
Iran’s position, as described in the AP report, included an Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi office statement saying he had been discussing the war this week with counterparts. The report added that Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, denied Trump’s claim of direct talks, and that an Iranian military spokesman issued a statement vowing to fight “until complete victory.”