Trump has ordered the deployment of 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East.
The 82nd Airbrone Division is known as the Army’s emergency response unit and can be deployed on short notice. The force includes the 1st Brigade Combat Team with Major General Brandon Tegtmeier as its commander.
Last week, officials said that the Marines aboard Navy ships would head to the Middle East. The Marine units are utilized for missions that supporting U.S. embassies, evacuating civilians and disaster relief. However the 82nd Airborne is able to go into hostile territory by parachute to secure territory and airfields.
Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee are expected to be included in a classified briefing from the Pentagon on Wednesday.
The troops are being deployed in the wake of Trump claiming that negotiations with Iran to end the war are underway. However, Iran has denied that any negotiations are taking place.
“We have a number of people doing it [engaging in peace talks],” Trump said. “And the other side, I can tell you, they’d like to make a deal.”
The people who the White House has claimed are in on the negotiations include envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance.
Abbas Araghchi, Iranian Foreign Minister, has said his office has discussed the war, but the speaker of Iran’s parliament denied Trump’s claims of direct conversations.
A spokesperson for the Iranian military issued a statement saying that the country will fight “until complete victory,” according to the Associated Press.
