The Pentagon is weighing sending in about 3,000 troops to support the Iran war effort, which may include seizing Kharg Island, the Middle Eastern country’s main oil export hub, according to a new report.
Senior Pentagon officials may deploy the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division’s “Immediate Response Force,” a combat brigade of about 3,000 soldiers that can deploy paratroopers and equipment anywhere in the world within 18 hours, The New York Times reported Monday, citing defense officials.
The combat brigade and some elements of the 82nd Airborne’s headquarters staff may reportedly be deployed to help in the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, which is now in its fourth week.
The combat brigade could be used to seize Kharg Island, Iran’s key oil export terminal, according to the NYT. The defense officials cautioned that nothing had been ordered by the Pentagon or US Central Command, which covers the Middle East.
The Pentagon declined to comment on the reporting, telling The Independent, “Due to operations security, we do not discuss future or hypothetical movements.”
On March 13, President Donald Trump announced Central Command “executed one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East, and totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran’s crown jewel, Kharg Island.”
Trump said on Truth Social, “for reasons of decency,” he chose not to “wipe out” Kharg Island’s oil infrastructure.
“However, should Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider this decision,” the president added.
Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway between Iran and Oman that carries about a fifth of the world’s oil, with threats to attack ships that try to enter.
Trump called on US allies to help secure the vital waterway, but he was initially rebuffed.
Oil prices have surged amid the war, with Brent crude, the international standard, briefly reaching above $119 per barrel on Thursday, the Associated Press reported. Before the US and Israeli military strikes began, oil was at about $70 a barrel, according to the AP.
On Monday, Brent crude dipped 11 percent to $99.94 a barrel, per The Wall Street Journal, after Trump announced he was holding off on strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for five days.
The president wrote on Truth Social Monday morning the U.S. and Iran had “very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East” over the weekend.
He added the five-day postponement of strikes is “subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions” with Iran.
