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The United States Army recently canceled a major training exercise for the headquarters element of an elite paratrooper unit, raising speculation within the Pentagon that ground combat troops could be sent to the Middle East as the conflict with Iran escalates, according to a report by The Washington Post on Friday.
The report said the exercise involving the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg in North Carolina was abruptly canceled in recent days.
“No deployment orders had been issued as of Friday,” officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, according to the report.
The 82nd Airborne Division includes a brigade combat team of about 4,000 to 5,000 soldiers capable of deploying within 18 hours.
The unit is trained for missions ranging from seizing airfields and other critical infrastructure to reinforcing U.S. embassies and conducting emergency evacuations.
The report said the army is also expected to announce a previously scheduled deployment of a helicopter unit from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East.
However, officials said the deployment is not expected to occur until later in the spring.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump has reportedly expressed serious interest in deploying a limited number of American troops on the ground to fight Iran, according to an NBC News report citing officials familiar with the discussions.
The deployment would not involve a full-scale ground invasion but rather a small contingent of troops, the report said.
Trump reportedly raised the idea while discussing broader objectives that include preventing Iran from enriching uranium for potential nuclear weapons and ensuring cooperation with U.S. oil producers, according to the sources.
The White House said Wednesday that deploying U.S. ground troops to Iran is not currently part of the administration’s military strategy but did not rule out future changes.
“Well, they’re not part of the plan for this operation at this time,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
Her remarks came amid U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran that began Feb. 28 and have killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and several senior security officials.
Tehran has responded with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel and U.S.-linked sites in Gulf countries.
Six U.S. service members have been killed and several others injured in the attacks.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine declined to comment on the possibility of sending U.S. ground troops to Iran.
“I’m not going to comment on US boots on the ground. I think that’s a question for policymakers. And I don’t make policy, I execute policy,” Caine told reporters at the Pentagon.
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