The Army just yanked the headquarters staff of elite paratrooper unit out of a major training drill, and it's setting off alarms about what might come next in the widening conflict with Iran. The 82nd Airborne Division's headquarters, which oversees rapid deployments of its 4,000- to 5,000-strong Immediate Response Force, was told to remain at Fort Bragg instead of heading to a planned exercise in Louisiana, officials tell the Washington Post reports. No orders have been issued, and the Pentagon insists it won't discuss potential movements, but one official summed up the mood as "preparing for something—just in case."
For now, the US campaign in Iran is being waged from the air and sea, with more than 50,000 American personnel involved and B-2 bombers striking underground missile sites as Iranian defenses erode. Six US service members have been killed, and President Trump has warned there will "likely be more" casualties while refusing to rule out sending ground troops. Aides say that's not in the current plan. Trump said earlier this week that he doesn't have the "yips" about sending in troops if he deems it necessary, but he told NBC News on Thursday that an invasion would be a "waste of time." "They've lost everything. They've lost their navy. They've lost everything they can lose," he said.
Analysts say any land operation could include seizing Kharg Island, a key oil hub. Michael Rubin at the conservative American Enterprise Institute tells the Post that securing the Persian Gulf island would be a "no-brainer." Rubin says it appears that the administration is "coming around to the idea that Iran is a much greater problem set than perhaps they went in thinking." Any such operation, however, would expose US forces and deepen political risks for Trump, who faces broad public opposition to a ground war.
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