Hundreds of U.S. Special Operations Forces, including Navy SEALs and Army Rangers, are now in the Middle East, along with thousands of Marines and Army paratroopers, according to unnamed sources.
The deployment gives President Trump military options against Iran, including potential operations targeting the Strait of Hormuz, oil facilities on Kharg Island, or Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile.
U.S. Central Command declined to comment on the troop movements.
President Trump claimed on Truth Social that negotiations with Iran are ongoing but warned that if no deal is reached soon, the U.S. would strike Iran’s electric plants, oil wells, and Kharg Island.
More than 3,500 U.S. troops, including the USS Tripoli with about 2,500 Marines, have arrived in the region as strikes intensify. A second Marine Expeditionary Unit is en route.
Elements of the 82nd Airborne are also expected to deploy, bringing the total U.S. troop presence in the region to over 5,000.
Iran has dismissed a 15-point ceasefire proposal as "excessive," casting doubt on any swift resolution to the conflict now in its fifth week.