Trump Orders 3,000 More Troops to the Middle East As Pentagon Considers Land Operations

(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Donald Trump reportedly ordered 3,000 more U.S. troops to the Middle East this week, reported Fox News Chief National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin on Tuesday.

“Fox News has learned that the Commander of the 82nd Airborne Division Maj Gen Brandon Tegtmeier and his ‘command element,’ members of his headquarters staff, have been ordered to deploy to the Middle East as the Pentagon and White House weigh whether to send the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East for possible land operations,” Griffin wrote on X.

The Wall Street Journal also confirmed the report, noting, “Officials cautioned that a decision to put boots on the ground in Iran hasn’t been made. But deploying the 82nd opens the door to President Trump for several strategic options.”

Griffin added in her reporting, “There has been speculation that the US would use ground forces to possibly take Kharg Island or for other missions inside Iran. This would be a first step needed to plan for such a contingency.”

On Monday, Trump announced that the U.S. and Iran had begun “concrete” negotiations to try to end the ongoing conflict, which has expanded to other countries in the region as Iran has retaliated against Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE, and other U.S. allies. Trump said in his announcement that he would delay further bombing of Iranian energy targets for five days to give negotiations a chance. Kharg Island hosts some of Iran’s most vital energy facilities and is a prime U.S. target for any kind of escalation.

“So here’s what I tell President Trump: keep it up for a few more weeks, take Kharg Island where all of the resources they have to produce oil, control that island, let this regime die on a vine,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told Fox News on Sunday.

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