US expected to send thousands of soldiers to Middle East

The Pentagon is expected to send thousands of soldiers from the army's elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday, adding to the massive military buildup even as the Trump administration seeks talks with Iran.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, did not specify where in the Middle East the troops would go and when they would arrive in the region. The soldiers are stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

The U.S. military referred questions to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

No decision had been made to send troops into Iran itself, one of the sources told Reuters, but they will build up capacity for potential future operations in the region.

The soldiers' deployment would be in addition to the deployment last week of thousands of Marines and sailors aboard the USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship, along with its Marine Expeditionary Unit and accompanying warships.

The expected deployments come just a day after President Donald Trump postponed threats to bomb Iranian power plants, saying there had been "productive" talks with Iran.

But after Trump's Truth Social comment on Monday, Iran denied that any talks had been held.

Trump weighs next steps

Sources had previously said the U.S. military was looking at options in the Iran war including securing the Strait of​Hormuz, potentially by deploying U.S. ⁠forces to Iran's shoreline.

The Trump administration has also discussed options to send ground forces to Iran's Kharg Island, the hub for 90 percent of Iran's oil exports, Reuters has reported.

The 82nd Airborne Division, which can deploy within 18 hours of receiving orders, specializes in carrying out parachute assaults.

Any use of U.S. ground troops — even for ​a limited mission — could pose significant political risks for Trump, given low American ​public support for the Iran ⁠campaign and Trump's own pre-election promises to avoid entangling the U.S. in new Middle East conflicts.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Tuesday found that 35 percent of Americans approve of the U.S. strikes on Iran, down from 37 percent in a survey conducted last week. Some 61 percent disapproved of the strikes, compared to 59 percent last week.

The U.S. has carried out ⁠strikes against ​9,000 targets inside Iran since U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran started on Feb. 28.