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Report: US mulls sending airborne troops to capture Iran's Kharg Island

Ynetnews published Report: US mulls sending airborne troops to capture Iran's Kharg Island on March 24, 2026. The page lists the author as ynet. It says The New York Times, citing defense officials, reported that senior U.S. officers were weighing a brigade of the Army's 82nd Airborne, and possibly Marines, for a seizure of Kharg Island, Iran's main oil-export island in the Persian Gulf. The same page says no deployment had been ordered yet. That day, the 82nd Airborne's paratroopers began deploying to the region.

Background for new readers: On 28 February 2026 the United States and Israel began a joint air war on Iran. The Pentagon calls its part Operation Epic Fury; Israel calls its part Operation Roaring Lion. It came eight months after a shorter war in June 2025, when US bombers hit Iran's nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. The question running through this section is whether the air war turns into American soldiers fighting on Iranian soil. This article is filed under Kharg Island and the Uranium Raid; the full article index lists every article on this shelf.

Evidence rating: MODERATE. This is contingency planning as defense officials described it to The New York Times, retold by Ynetnews. The Pentagon and US Central Command declined to comment.

What the article says​

Ynetnews says the discussions were contingency planning. No deployment had been ordered by the Pentagon or by U.S. Central Command, the headquarters that runs American forces in the region. Both declined to comment, the page says.

"Officials told the Times that one option under consideration involves the 82nd Airborne's Immediate Response Force, a roughly 3,000-soldier brigade capable of deploying within 18 hours."

Ynetnews, March 24, 2026, reporting what officials told The New York Times.

The page says that unit could be tasked with seizing Kharg Island. A second scenario was about 2,500 troops from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, a Marine force then on its way to the region, if President Donald Trump authorized the operation.

The page says the Times reported that recent U.S. airstrikes had damaged the airfield on the island, which made an opening landing by Marines more likely. Marine combat engineers could repair the runway. Air Force C-130 cargo planes could then bring in more troops, equipment, and supplies. Airborne soldiers could reinforce the Marines afterward. Current and former officials told the Times that paratroopers can arrive quickly but do not bring the heavy armored vehicles that would matter if Iran counterattacked. The page says Marine forces fit an initial assault, but they are not built to stay as long as Army units. It says the 82nd Airborne could replace the Marines after a first seizure.

The page also says parts of the division headquarters could be sent to coordinate the operation. Earlier that month, the Army canceled a planned trip of about 300 headquarters personnel to a training exercise in Louisiana, so those people would be available if a fast deployment to the Middle East were ordered. The page says this Immediate Response Force has been used in earlier rapid missions, including in the Middle East in 2020, in Afghanistan in 2021, and in Eastern Europe in 2022.

What other reporting adds​

The New York Times headline, as shared the day before. "PENTAGON WEIGHS DEPLOYMENT OF AIRTROOPS TO IRAN — NYT," posted the account NewsWire on 23 March. A reply: "No boots on the ground if they're 'airtroops'" (research capture: twitter/t52__v616.md).

The same day's deployment reports. A war-tracking account posted on 24 March that about 3,000 paratroopers "from the 82nd Airborne Division's Brigade Combat Team, most of whom belong to the Immediate Response Force," were deploying, and that "Officials caution that no decision has been made to conduct ground operations in Iran." (@theinformant_x on X; research capture: twitter/t51__v607.md).

A warning about holding Kharg. Joe Kent, Trump's former counterterrorism director, is quoted in a Reddit comment on the island plan: "I just think that would be a disaster… It would essentially be giving Iran a bunch of hostages on an island that they could barrage with drones and missiles." (research capture: twitter/t51__v601.md; original source not found). Six days later Trump told the Financial Times, as a digest quoted him, that taking Kharg "would also mean we had to be there [in Kharg Island] for a while" (@ZackEiseman on X, 30 March 2026; research capture: twitter/t49__v587.md).

What it shows​

This is what a Kharg Island landing looks like on paper: Marines of the 31st MEU go ashore first, combat engineers repair the damaged runway, C-130s bring in more troops, and a roughly 3,000-soldier brigade of the 82nd Airborne holds the island afterward. The same day, the 82nd's paratroopers began deploying, and the Army had already canceled a training trip to keep division headquarters staff free for a fast move.

Six days later Trump said taking Kharg "would also mean we had to be there [in Kharg Island] for a while." Every unit in the plan is American. See Kharg Island and the Uranium Raid and The Buildup.

Check it yourself​

Last Updated: 2026-09-26

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