A satellite tv for pc view of Qeshm Island in Hormozgan Province, Iran, throughout the Strait of Hormuz area on January 17, 2026.
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The U.S. is getting ready to ship hundreds extra troops to the Center East, prompting hypothesis a few floor assault on Iran amid conflicting accounts of peace talks.
The Pentagon is reportedly getting ready to ship about 3,000 troops from the Military’s 82nd Airborne Division to the Center East, alongside two Marine Expeditionary Items, to help army operations in Iran.
Navy specialists mentioned that the variety of further troops being deployed to the area seems to be in step with plans for discrete and time-limited operations — relatively than a sustained floor marketing campaign.
It places two strategic Iranian islands within the highlight and raises questions on a possible transfer to grab the Islamic Republic’s nuclear supplies.
“All bulletins concerning troop deployments will come from the Division of Conflict. As we now have mentioned, President Trump at all times has all army choices at his disposal,” White Home spokesperson Anna Kelly instructed CNBC in an emailed assertion.
Retired U.S. Military Lt. Col. Daniel Davis estimated that there have been doubtless solely round 4,000 to five,000 “set off pullers” or floor troops being deployed.
“That is sufficient to seize a small goal for a time period. You have to perceive, even the 82nd Airborne Division, it is a direct response power to supply very fast response on the bottom however solely prematurely of one thing greater coming in behind that,” Davis, a senior fellow and army professional at Protection Priorities, instructed CNBC’s “Squawk Field Asia” on Thursday.
“I’ve seen no proof that any form of a power of dimension has been even thought-about, a lot much less alerted, ready, geared up, educated up that you’d have to go. … That takes months of time to do.”
Qeshm Island, Kharg Island and nuclear supplies
Davis mentioned that, from the restricted variety of floor troops being deployed, there have been three potentialities that the U.S. might theoretically execute.
The primary risk is seizing Qeshm Island, which sits “within the horseshoe bend of the Strait of Hormuz,” Davis mentioned.
Qeshm Island, off Iran’s southern coast, is the most important island within the Persian Gulf. Positioned close to the strategically very important Strait of Hormuz, the arrow-shaped island has emerged as a possible U.S. goal amid studies that anti-ship missiles, mines, drones and assault craft are being stored there in underground tunnels.
Davis mentioned the second goal may very well be Kharg Island, the centerpiece of Iran’s oil business, whereas a 3rd state of affairs is a raid to seize greater than 400 kilograms of reprocessed materials, offered the U.S. can find this and it’s sufficiently concentrated to make a raid viable.
Sometimes called its “oil lifeline,” Kharg Island is a coral island positioned about 15 miles off the coast of mainland Iran.
It’s estimated that round 90% of the nation’s crude exports move by it earlier than tankers then journey by the Strait of Hormuz. The island’s financial significance to Iran makes it significantly susceptible to the specter of army motion, though analysts say seizing it will doubtless require a floor troop operation, which the U.S. has beforehand appeared reluctant to undertake.
“The general concept is to disclaim Iran’s capabilities to make use of these islands,” Kevin Donegan, retired vice admiral and former commander of the U.S. Navy’s fifth Fleet, instructed CNBC’s “Morning Name” on Wednesday.
“Loads can come at you from mines and missiles and cruise missiles … however lots of that has been eradicated already or considerably degraded. So, the mission is completely executable. The actual query is how lengthy will it take to do it and when can stream be restored,” he added.
One in every of Tehran’s high lawmakers mentioned Wednesday that they had been anticipating a possible assault from “Iran’s enemies” to attempt to occupy considered one of its islands.
“All enemy actions are underneath the complete surveillance of our armed forces,” Iran’s speaker of parliament, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, mentioned on X, in response to a Google translation.
“In the event that they step out of line, all of the very important infrastructure of that regional nation will, with out restriction, change into the goal of relentless assaults,” he added.
The U.S. forces aren’t for combating extended land wars
Ruben Stewart, senior fellow for land warfare on the Worldwide Institute for Strategic Research, or IISS, assume tank, mentioned the variety of U.S. forces getting ready to be deployed was not in step with a sustained floor marketing campaign.
“What’s notably absent are the heavy armoured models, logistics depth, and command buildings required for a chronic land struggle. In sensible phrases, this can be a power that may act rapidly and selectively, however not one that might maintain operations deep inside Iran or over an prolonged interval,” Stewart instructed CNBC by e-mail.
“Seizing Kharg Island is technically possible however escalatory, given its centrality to Iran’s oil exports. In contrast, securing Iran’s nuclear materials can be the least real looking with this power as it will require a far bigger, sustained floor presence,” he added.
A person holds an Iranian flag displaying the faces of Iran’s late and new Supreme Leaders Ali and Mojtaba Khamenei alongside Enghelab (Revolution) Sq. in central Tehran on March 25, 2026.
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The comparatively restricted degree of deployment was maybe greatest understood as a instrument of coercive leverage, Stewart mentioned, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to extend its bargaining energy and sign that it has choices if diplomacy fails.
The White Home has mentioned that Trump has been engaged in “productive” talks with Iran over the past three days, including that the army operation in Iran was “forward of schedule.”
Iran, nevertheless, has repeatedly denied holding talks with Washington.
