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Pentagon deploys 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East

25 March 2026

The Pentagon is preparing to deploy around 3,000 troops from the US Army’s 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, adding to thousands of Marines already being sent to the region to support operations in the conflict with Iran. The move comes as US President Donald Trump expressed optimism about ongoing negotiations with Tehran.

President Trump said that Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are leading the talks. On Monday (23 March), he stated that Iran had been presented with a list of 15 US conditions for peace, including abandoning any plans to develop nuclear weapons.

On Wednesday (25 March), Iranian military spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaqari criticised the US leadership in a televised statement, dismissing its strategic position. Zolfaqari, who speaks for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said that the “era of your promises is over” and described US power as having turned into “strategic defeat”.

He added that global energy markets would remain unstable unless the United States abandoned the idea of military action against Iran. Oil prices have eased slightly this week following renewed prospects for talks, but remain significantly higher than before the conflict.

Source: commonspace.eu with CNN and Politico

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