NYT: Pentagon Considers Deploying 82nd Airborne Troops For Potential Attack On Iran’s Kharg Island – Antiwar.com
NYT: Pentagon Considers Deploying 82nd Airborne Troops For Potential Attack On Iran’s Kharg Island
US military officials are considering deploying a combat brigade from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East to support the war with Iran and potentially take part in an operation aimed at seizing control of Iran’s Kharg Island, The New York Times reported on Monday.
The troops would come from the 82nd Airborne’s “Immediate Response Force,” a brigade of about 3,000 soldiers that can deploy anywhere in the world. Officials speaking to the Times said that while planning was underway, there has been no order from the Pentagon to deploy troops to the region so far.
The report said that the 3,000 Airborne troops could be used to seize the island, or the US could opt to use about 2,500 Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, who are already en route to the region, for the operation. A second MEU is also reportedly being deployed to the Middle East.
One issue with using the Marines is that they’re traveling on warships and would sustain significant Iranian missile and drone fire when attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz and reach Kharg Island, which is deep inside the Persian Gulf.
Former US commanders told the Times that recent US airstrikes damaged an airfield on Kharg Island, making it more likely to first bring in Marines, whose combat engineers could quickly repair airfields and other airport infrastructure, and then augment the Marines with the 82nd Airborne troops.
🔗SOURCE ➡️ Antiwar.com
Related: 3/22 — Lindsey Graham On Kharg Island: “We Did Iwo Jima. We Can Do This.”
3/21 — Trump Planning To Invade Iran’s Kharg Island: Report
3/20 — The IRGC Warns The UAE That Any Renewed Attack Launched From Its Territory Against Iranian Islands In The Persian Gulf Will Result In Iran’s Armed Forces Striking The Industrial Port City Of Ras Al-Khaimah.
3/19 — 🇺🇸⚔️🇮🇷 Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, says that Iran’s Kharg Island will become a U.S. asset, confirming existing rumours that the U.S. will attempt to invade and seize the island.
3/15 — ⭕️ New York Times: Trump faces growing dilemma as war on Iran enters third week
Trump is weighing major escalation options including seizing Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export terminal, or launching a ground raid to seize roughly 970 pounds of near-bomb-grade uranium stored in Isfahan.
3/15 — “We may hit it a few more times just for fun.” — US President Donald Trump told NBC News that US strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island “totally demolished” much of the key oil export hub, while threatening that additional attacks could follow.
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