INTERNACIONAL
US moves airborne troops, Marines as Iran rejects ceasefire, raising ground war potential
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The U.S. is positioning ground-capable forces in the Middle East as Iran rejected a ceasefire proposal Wednesday, a shift that gives Washington new — though limited and high-risk — options for potential operations inside Iran.
Military experts say the deployments are not a precursor to a large-scale invasion, but instead position the U.S. for targeted, short-duration missions — options that have taken on new relevance as diplomatic off-ramps narrow.
In recent days, the Pentagon has moved ground-capable forces into the region, including around 1,000 paratroopers, with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division — among them the 1st Brigade Combat Team, a core component of the military’s Immediate Response Force rapid-response unit designed to deploy on short notice to crises anywhere in the world — along with roughly 5,000 Marines and sailors assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and its Amphibious Ready Group, led by the amphibious assault ship Tripoli.
Marine expeditionary units and airborne forces often are among the first U.S. units deployed in a conflict, designed to rapidly establish an initial presence and respond to emerging crises.
IRAN’S REMAINING WEAPONS: HOW TEHRAN CAN STILL DISRUPT THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ
The U.S. is positioning ground-capable forces in the Middle East after Iran rejected a ceasefire proposal, a shift that gives Washington new—though limited and high-risk—options for potential operations inside Iran. (Vanderwolf Images via Getty)
The White House has emphasized the deployments are meant to preserve flexibility as the conflict evolves — a posture that now carries greater weight after Iran rejected a U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal.
«The president likes to maintain options at his disposal,» press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday at a White House press briefing. «It’s the Pentagon’s job to provide those options to the commander in chief.»
Lawmakers on the Armed Services Committees emerged from a classified briefing on Iran Wednesday expressing frustration over a lack of clarity from the administration.
«We want to know more about what’s going on, what the options are, and why they’re being considered,» House Armed Services Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., told reporters. «We’re just not getting enough answers.»
«Let me put it this way, I can see why he might have said that,» Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Mo., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in agreement.
Military experts said the types of forces being deployed point to a more limited set of options on the ground.
«It is not for the type of ground invasion that we saw in Iraq,» James Robbins, Institute of World Politics dean and former special assistant to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, told Fox News Digital. «There simply aren’t enough troops.»
The U.S. already maintains roughly 40,000 troops to 50,000 troops across the Middle East, with recent deployments adding several thousand more forces, including Marines and airborne units.
The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment.
What limited ground options could look like
If U.S. forces were used inside Iran, experts say operations likely would focus on specific, high-value objectives rather than holding territory.
One likely focus would be along Iran’s southern coast near the Strait of Hormuz — a critical global shipping lane that would become a central pressure point in any limited U.S. ground option.
Iranian forces have positioned missiles, drones and naval assets throughout the region, creating a persistent threat environment for any operation.
«The most logical step is to try to secure the straits by taking some key positions inside Iran,» Ehud Eilam, a former official with Israel’s Ministry of Defense, told Fox News Digital.
USS Tripoli is headed to the Middle East. (Edgar Su/Reuters)
«For the Marines, it would probably be somewhere along the Iranian side of the Persian Gulf, around the straits or nearby to establish a base of operations,» Robbins said.
Trump has said the U.S. Navy could escort commercial tankers through the waterway if necessary, as Iranian threats have disrupted traffic in one of the world’s most critical energy choke points. But no plans have been enacted to do so, according to officials.
But even limited objectives would be difficult to secure or sustain under constant threat.
«It’s a large gulf and there’s lots of places you could drop a mine or shoot a cruise missile from or shoot a drone from,» said Adm. Kevin Donegan, former commander of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet.
Beyond coastal positions, U.S. forces could be used for short-duration missions targeting specific military assets — such as missile launch sites, radar systems or other infrastructure that cannot be fully neutralized from the air.
AFTER THE STRIKES, HOW WOULD THE US SECURE IRAN’S ENRICHED URANIUM?
Eilam said special operations forces could also be used for targeted missions inside Iran, including striking military infrastructure or capturing key personnel.
«They may come and capture a certain objective, destroy some Iranian radar, or some Iranian facility, take some generals into captivity,» Eilam said.
Such operations would be aimed at degrading Iran’s capabilities and supporting broader air and naval operations, rather than holding territory.
Some experts noted that small special operations teams can operate inside Iran without public visibility, making it difficult to assess the full scope of current activity.
(Photo by Elif Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Securing nuclear infrastructure
One potential objective for ground forces would be securing Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
Nuclear experts have insisted that the material could not be destroyed by airstrikes alone — a presence on the ground would be essential.
Robbins said U.S. troops could be used to secure nuclear material or facilities — but not under active fire.
«That would have to be more under a permissive environment,» Robbins said. «It could not really well be done under fire.»
Iran is believed to have roughly 970 pounds of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels, though international inspectors say they can no longer verify the size or location of that stockpile.
In past conflicts, U.S. forces have been tasked with securing weapons sites or sensitive materials even in unstable or contested environments, particularly during and after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, when specialized units conducted extensive searches of hundreds of facilities.
Any such operation in Iran would be complex. Key nuclear facilities are hardened, dispersed, and in some cases buried deep underground, making them difficult to access or secure quickly.
What the US is unlikely to do — and why
Experts cautioned that some of the more aggressive scenarios being discussed — such as seizing Iran’s key oil export hub at Kharg Island — are unlikely to be pursued.
While such a move could, in theory, choke off a major source of revenue for Iran, they said similar effects could be achieved through less exposed means.
«You could achieve that desired outcome just by constraining the flow that comes out of Kharg after it gets outside the Gulf,» Donegan said.
Robbins also questioned the strategic value of seizing the island.
«To what end would be the question,» he said. «I don’t see an endgame to seizing Kharg.»
Experts warned that occupying territory like Kharg would expose U.S. forces as fixed targets while creating major logistical challenges, requiring continuous resupply under the threat of Iranian missile and drone attacks.
«Occupying territory creates a vulnerability, because you now become a target,» Donegan said.
Instead, they said U.S. forces are better suited for limited operations ashore that do not require holding ground.
«Doing something ashore to eliminate things, because you have to be on the ground to do it, and leaving — that’s also a capability,» Donegan said.
The buildup also has included increased activity from U.S. military transport aircraft, including C-17 and C-130 airlifters used to move troops and heavy equipment into the region, part of the logistical groundwork that would be required for any potential ground operations.
Iran prepares defenses at Kharg and across the region
Behind the scenes, Iranians likely are preparing for all contingencies in a ground war. Iranian officials dismissed Trump’s talk of «productive» negotiations as «psychological warfare» and negotiations weren’t happening.
Iranian Lt. Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a military spokesperson, mocked the U.S. attempts at a ceasefire deal Wednesday in a video statement, asking, «Have your internal conflicts reached the point where you are negotiating with yourselves?»
Any U.S. ground operation targeting Kharg Island would face an environment Iran already has prepared and militarized.
The island is not just an oil hub but a coastal military hub. Recent U.S. strikes hit more than 90 Iranian military targets on the island, including missile storage bunkers and naval mine facilities.
Iran has been moving additional forces and air defenses, as well as laying traps, at Kharg for weeks in preparation for a potential U.S. operation to seize the island, sources familiar with the intelligence told CNN.
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Beyond the island itself, Iranian forces have increased military readiness across the region.
Reporting shows the repositioning of missile units, expanded air defense activity, and increased naval patrols in the Strait of Hormuz — part of a broader effort to disperse assets and reduce vulnerability to strikes.
war with iran, conflicts defense, middle east foreign policy
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House Republicans are lurching forward with a second budget reconciliation package, ending months of speculation about whether the chamber would attempt to marshal a second GOP-only megabill through Congress before November’s midterm elections.
House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, said Wednesday he wants the measure to pay for President Donald Trump’s Iran campaign and enact anti-fraud provisions that offset the cost of the anticipated defense infusion’s large price tag.
«It’s an opportunity to solve two problems and address two challenges and advance two great causes: fund the military, provide a strong defense, win the war, achieve the objectives and do it in a way that doesn’t put our kids further in the hole,» Arrington told reporters.
«We’re all but ready to mark up a budget resolution,» Arrington continued, adding his panel is still continuing to hash out the details of the package.
Representative Jodey Arrington, R-Texas and the chairman of the House Budget Committee, center, speaks during a House Budget Committee meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., May 18, 2025. (Alex Wroblewski/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
HOUSE CONSERVATIVES ERUPT OVER SENATE GOP, WHITE HOUSE DEAL AMID SAVE ACT FIGHT
The Trump administration has floated a $200 billion request to help pay for the war in Iran but has yet to deliver a formal request. Given Democrats’ expected opposition to a defense supplemental, some House Republicans have said a second reconciliation package is the only viable vehicle to advance the measure and other Trump priorities through Congress.
«Democrats have obstructed everything,» Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. «So, we believe, unfortunately, that reconciliation is the only mechanism to move the rest of the President’s agenda.»
Republicans have zeroed in on fraud in social services for months and view the enactment of fraud-related spending cuts as a way to offset the cost of the package.
The budget reconciliation process would allow Republicans to circumvent the Senate’s 60-vote requirement and pass a spending measure with a simple majority.
Arrington said he would be working closely with Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who also announced Wednesday that his panel would begin drafting reconciliation instructions. The South Carolina Republican floated funding increases for the military and law enforcement in addition to voter integrity measures as possible items in a second reconciliation bill.
«Let’s put it this way: The reconciliation train is leaving the station,» Graham posted on X after the two lawmakers met to discuss a second megabill Wednesday.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., speaks during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in the Dirksen Senate Office Building July 15, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
GOP MUST RACE FOR NEW ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ TO SLASH COSTS BEFORE MIDTERMS, TOP HOUSE REPUBLICANS WARN
Though Republicans are likely to broadly support defense supplemental funding and fraud-prevention measures, a second megabill could still face major hurdles.
Republicans narrowly passed Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act in June 2025 after months of intraparty disagreement. Under House Republicans’ razor-thin majority, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., can afford to spare just one GOP defection in a party-line vote.
However, Arrington argued that the war in Iran would be a unifying force to get the bill done.
«I think funding our military in a time of war, if there’s no sense of urgency and accountability from members of Congress to support our commander in chief, I can’t think of one,» Arrington said. «I do think the big push is going to be supporting our sons and daughters in uniform and making sure they have what they need to be successful.»
Arrington did not shut the door on including parts of the SAVE America Act in a GOP-only megabill. However, its sweeping provisions, requiring proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections and voter ID requirements, could fail to meet reconciliation’s stringent budget requirements.
The Trump-backed election bill has stalled in the Senate due to widespread Democratic opposition, though the upper chamber is continuing to debate the measure.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks to reporters outside his office on the 28th day of the government shutdown at the Capitol in Washington Oct. 28, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)
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Johnson, who has long pushed for a second budget bill, said Wednesday he was encouraged by Graham moving forward with reconciliation.
«I’m glad to know the Senate is interested in reconciliation 2.0,» the speaker said. «I have been a broken record. We need to do that. It’s an important legislative tool.»
budget house of representatives politics, lindsey graham, republicans, mike johnson, war with iran
INTERNACIONAL
Cumbre de aliados estratégicos de Putin en Pyongyang: Kim Jong Un recibió a Lukashenko para reforzar vínculos
El presidente de Bielorrusia, Alexander Lukashenko, llegó a Pyongyang en su primera visita oficial a Corea del Norte, donde fue recibido por el líder norcoreano Kim Jong Un. Lo anunció este jueves la agencia estatal KCNA.
El líder bielorruso y su par norcoreano son considerados dos de los principales socios y aliados del presidente ruso Vladimir Putin.
La ceremonia de bienvenida se celebró este miércoles en la Plaza Kim Il Sung. Kim Jong Un recibió a Lukashenko en el plaza Kim Il Sung de Pyongyang. (Foto: EFE)
El gobernante norcoreano recibió “con agrado” y dio una “cálida” bienvenida al líder bielorruso, según el reporte oficial.
Ambos países están sometidos a sanciones de potencias occidentales, mantienen estrechos vínculos con Rusia y son acusados de violaciones a los derechos humanos.
A qué fue el líder bielorruso a Corea del Norte
Lukashenko inició su primera visita a Corea del Norte para mantener conversaciones que consolidarán los lazos entre dos estrechos aliados de Putin. Kim Jong Un dio la bienvenida al gobernante bielorruso Alexander Lukashenko frente a una multitud en Pyongyang. (Foto: KCNA vía Reuters).
Kim proporcionó a Moscú millones de cartuchos de munición para su guerra en Ucrania y envió tropas para ayudar a Rusia a expulsar a las fuerzas ucranianas que invadieron su región occidental de Kursk en agosto de 2024.
Leé también: Guerra en Medio Oriente: exigencias “inaceptables” y amenazas alejan un acuerdo de paz entre Irán y EE.UU.
Bielorrusia permitió que se utilizara su territorio como plataforma de lanzamiento para la invasión rusa en febrero de 2022. Luego, accedió a albergar misiles nucleares tácticos rusos en su país, que limita con tres países de la OTAN. Kim Jong Un y Alexander Lukashenko asistieron a una ceremonia de ofrenda floral en la Torre de la Liberación de Pyongyang, Corea del Norte, este miércoles. (Foto: KCNA vía REUTERS)
Lukashenko llegó en avión a la capital, Pyongyang, donde se lo recibió con alfombra roja y fue saludado por la ministra de Asuntos Exteriores de Kim y por decenas de niños pequeños que ondeaban las banderas de ambos países.
Lukashenko se reunió más tarde con Kim. También rindió homenaje en el Palacio del Sol de Kumsusan, un mausoleo donde se exhiben los cuerpos embalsamados de los antiguos gobernantes Kim Il Sung y Kim Jong Il, abuelo y padre del actual líder.
Tanto Corea del Norte como Bielorrusia llevan años sometidas a sanciones internacionales: la primera, principalmente por su programa de armas nucleares, y la segunda, por su historial en materia de derechos humanos y su apoyo a Putin en Ucrania. El líder de Corea del Norte y el presidente de Bielorrusia buscan reforzar su alianza en medio de tensiones con Occidente. (Foto: Presidencia de Bielorrusia/REUTERS)
No obstante, ambos mantuvieron contactos en diferentes momentos con el presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump.
El presidente estadounidense se reunió con Kim en tres ocasiones entre 2018 y 2019, durante su primer mandato en la Casa Blanca, pero sus encuentros no dieron resultados sustanciales.
Leé también: Quién es el halcón islámico Mohammed Bager Zolqadr, nuevo jefe del poderoso Consejo de Seguridad de Irán La visita del presidente de Bielorrusia a Corea del Norte se da en un contexto de sanciones y acercamiento estratégico con Rusia. (Foto: Presidencia de Bielorrusia/REUTERS)
Trump dijo el año pasado que “le encantaría tener otra reunión”, a lo que Kim respondió que podría suceder si Estados Unidos abandona su “absurda obsesión” por conseguir que Corea del Norte renuncie a las armas nucleares.
El año pasado, el presidente estadounidense restableció el contacto directo con Lukashenko, a quien el predecesor de Trump, Joe Biden, había tratado como a un paria. En los últimos meses, Estados Unidos empezó a suavizar las sanciones contra Bielorrusia a cambio de la liberación de presos políticos.
El viaje de Lukashenko a Corea del Norte se produce apenas seis días después de que se reuniera con el enviado de Trump, John Coale, y anunciara la liberación de otros 250 detenidos. La parte estadounidense afirmó que Lukashenko podría visitar pronto la Casa Blanca.
(Con información de AFP y Reuters)
corea del norte, Bielorrusia
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Police in the United Kingdom arrested two men Wednesday who were allegedly behind what Prime Minister Keir Starmer described as an «antisemitic arson attack» as detectives are investigating a possible Iran link.
Metropolitan Police said the men, ages 45 and 47, were detained at addresses in northwest and central London on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and that their properties are being searched. On Monday, «Four ambulances from Hatzola, a volunteer-led ambulance service operating in the Golders Green area of north London, were set on fire,» according to police.
«The antisemitic arson attack in Golders Green is horrifying,» Starmer said on X in reaction to the incident.
A video circulating online purports to show Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya, an Iran-linked group that has claimed responsibility for recent attacks on Jewish sites in Belgium and the Netherlands, taking credit for the London attack, according to the Jewish Chronicle.
UK COUNTERTERRORISM POLICE PROBE ANTISEMITIC ARSON ATTACK AS IRAN-LINKED GROUP CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY
Members of the Jewish community view the scene of an antisemitic arson attack in the Golders Green neighborhood of north London, on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. (Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)
«We are aware of an online claim from a group taking responsibility for this attack,» Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams of the Metropolitan Police previously said. «Establishing the authenticity and accuracy of this claim will be a priority… but it is not something we can confirm at this point.»
When asked about the possible Iran link on Wednesday, the Metropolitan Police told Fox News Digital that establishing any potential motivation behind the attack is part of the ongoing investigation but that it could not comment further at this time.
Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counterterrorism Policing London, which the Metropolitan Police said is leading the investigation, said Wednesday, «We have been working around the clock since this appalling attack took place and this has led to these arrests being made this morning.»
BELGIUM DEPLOYS MILITARY TO PROTECT JEWISH SITES AFTER ANTISEMITIC SYNAGOGUE EXPLOSION
Firefighters are seen tackling a blaze at Highfield Road in the Golders Green neighborhood of London, following an apparent arson attack on four ambulances belonging to the Jewish Community Ambulance Service. (PA/PA Images via Getty Images)
«This appears to be an important breakthrough in the investigation, but we’re also mindful that CCTV footage of the incident suggests there were at least three people involved,» she added. «We fully recognize the local community will still be concerned, and our investigation very much remains active, and we will continue to work to identify and seek to arrest all of those who may have been involved.»
«We know that community concerns remain heightened, and I want to reassure the community that an enhanced, bespoke policing plan and activity, which is particularly focused around vulnerable areas right across London, will continue over coming days and weeks,» Williams said Wednesday.
Charred remains of ambulances belonging to Hatzola, a Jewish community organization, which were set on fire in an incident that the police say is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime, in northwest London, on Monday, March 23, 2026. (Hannah McKay/TPX Images of the Day/Reuters)
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«This includes specialist officers and capability being deployed alongside local officers to help protect certain locations and will also involve highly visible armed police patrols to serve as a deterrent to anyone seeking to cause our communities harm,» he continued. «I must stress that these are precautionary and not in response to any specific threat, and we continue to work alongside our colleagues in counterterrorism policing to support their investigation.»
Fox News Digital’s Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.
anti semitism, counter terrorism, iran, united kingdom, europe, world
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