The US is sending 1,500 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne
Chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin reports on the latest on the conflict with Iran as nearly 1,500 troops and critical personnel are deployed to the Middle East.
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Iran could significantly increase its death toll in the US if its top military and proxies turn to terrorist-led attacks in the region, a leading military analyst has warned.
Michael Eisenstadt of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy spoke as the Pentagon moved parts of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East amid new tensions in the conflict, according to reports.
“Iran has a large military force the size of the 82nd Airborne division,” Eisenstadt, a former US Army Reserve officer, told Fox News Digital.
“The 82nd force is too small to cause significant damage to Iran, but it is large enough to be vulnerable to Iranian strikes, and this will cause Iran to significantly increase US casualties,” he said.
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The deployment of the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East is aimed at pressuring Iran to accept the terms of an end to the US invasion, said military analyst Michael Eisenstadt. (Sarah Blake Morgan/AP Photo)
Eisenstadt, who worked as a military analyst for the US government, said that, even if large-scale regular operations begin to decrease in the Middle East region, the danger can only appear rather than disappear.
“We have seen the end of the great war, the work is shifting to terrorist attacks in the Gulf and other gray-zone activities carried out by Iran,” he said.
“Think about the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War with Iraq, when we had to regroup the Iraqis ten years after a very successful war.”
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Iranian and Russian navies simulate the rescue of a hijacked ship during a joint exercise, February 19, in the port of Bandar Abbas in Hormozgan, Iran. (Iranian Army/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Fox News national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin reported on Wednesday that the US has ordered the deployment of 82 Airborne troops to the region.
The group is expected to include Maj. Gen. Brandon R. Tegtmeier, division commander, parts of his headquarters staff, and combat troops from the Rapid Response Unit.
Officials also pointed out that the number of troops sent is still subject to change.
Eisenstadt said the new deployment is aimed at increasing pressure on Tehran as the US pushes for new de-escalation targets set by President Donald Trump.
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President Donald Trump speaks to the media before boarding Air Force One, Monday, at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Mark Schifelbein/AP Photo)
“This deployment is aimed at creating leverage over Iran and pressuring it to accept the US terms of the ceasefire agreement. It will also create military options if Iran rejects those terms,” he said.
In that case, he said, the 82nd could work alongside Marine expeditionary units in capturing the area, including Kharg Island, located about 20 miles off the coast of Iran.
US forces raided military targets there on March 13, destroying more than 90 Iranian soldiers while deliberately sparing critical oil infrastructure, according to multiple reports.
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Satellite view of Kharg Island, located in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Iran. (Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data 2024)
“The combat team of the 82nd army can work with the MEU of the 11th and the 31st, or independently, to capture and hold an area – such as Kharg Island,” said Eisenstadt.
“This would give leverage over Iran by denying it the ability to export oil and help end the war on terms favorable to the US.”
“There are risks, because Iranian units on the mainland could attack Kharg Island and kill US soldiers there as well,” Eisenstadt said.
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President Donald Trump warned on Saturday that the US could strike Iran’s power plants if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened. (Aaron Schwartz/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel 2025 data via Getty Images)
The latest military buildup comes as the conflict that began with Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28, also focused on the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran restricts access.
“The deployment of 82 is aimed at increasing psychological pressure on Iran and supporting efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz for use by all countries,” explained Eisenstadt.
The 82nd Airborne is one of the US military’s most rapid response units, trained to parachute into hostile or contested territory to secure critical terrain and airfields.
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Parts of the unit also spent recent days at the Joint Readiness Training Center, honing infiltration, surveillance, combat and resupply skills, Axios reports.
“Iranian military officials welcomed the news of the deployment of these forces to the Gulf because it could create a way for them to impose costs on the US,” Eisenstadt said.
