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Десантный спецназ США против бойцов КСИРа: разговоры о наземном вторжении в Иран все громче — US airborne special forces against IRGC fighters: talk of a ground invasion of Iran grows louder
On 6 March 2026, Stanislav Okunevich, a duty editor at Israel's Russian-language Channel 9, published "Десантный спецназ США против бойцов КСИРа: разговоры о наземном вторжении в Иран все громче" on 9tv.co.il. The headline sets US paratrooper special forces against fighters of the IRGC, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran's separate armed force. The deck says groups like these could carry out serious sabotage. An American family should care because the column treats a US ground operation in Iran as something people were starting to expect, and it ties that talk to the 82nd Airborne Division, a US Army paratrooper force. Okunevich presents the troop move as speculation, not as an order.
Background for a new reader. The United States and Israel began bombing Iran on 28 February 2026; Washington calls its part Operation Epic Fury. Through March the argument in Washington was whether to add ground troops, meaning American soldiers physically inside Iran, to what had been an air and sea war. Israeli outlets, writing in Hebrew, Russian, Spanish, French and English, followed that argument closely and often passed on American reports to their readers. This page is one of those reports.
Evidence rating: MODERATE. This is one commentator on an Israeli Russian-language channel, reading press reports and a canceled 82nd Airborne exercise as signs of a coming ground operation. He labels his conclusion as an expectation, not a report of an order.
What the article says
Okunevich writes that talk of a ground operation in Iran was growing in the press and in political statements. He writes that it is logical to expect, if not large infantry formations, then mobile special-forces brigades. Those are small ground units. He pictures them working under air cover, in the chaos caused by bombing.
He writes that such groups could sabotage targets, go as far as seizing military and civilian leaders, capture and hold strategic sites, and try to organize local resistance. That list is his expectation. He does not present it as a published military plan.
He writes that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told the American network NBC, the day before, that Iran was ready for a ground invasion and that it would be a catastrophe for the republic's enemies. That is Tehran speaking.
Тема наземной операции в Иране все настойчивее муссируется в прессе и политических заявлениях.
Stanislav Okunevich, Channel 9, 6 March 2026. In plain English: the subject of a ground operation in Iran is being talked about more and more insistently in the press and in political statements.
He then cites American media, and links a Washington Post story, about a canceled exercise by an elite airborne group inside the 82nd Airborne Division. He describes that formation as four to five thousand soldiers, trained to deploy within 18 hours. The tasks he lists are seizing airfields and other key sites, reinforcing US posts abroad, and evacuating people in an emergency.
He writes that this news produced assumptions that those paratroopers were being sent to the Middle East for a coming invasion. He calls that an assumption. He does not say a deployment order had been issued.
He closes by noting that Donald Trump said that day that what was required of Iran was no longer flexibility in talks but unconditional surrender. Okunevich writes that this idea means a change in military tasks and a harder kind of fighting.
What other reporting and posts add
- The exercise rumor, three days later. An X trending page updated 9 March 2026 says Trump told the New York Post the US is "nowhere near" sending ground forces to Iran, "despite social media claims fueled by a canceled 82nd Airborne training exercise," and that "officials confirmed no deployment orders exist." A reader note on the same page: "The Washington Post has not reported that the US military is on high alert for a ground invasion of Iran. As of March 9, 2026, no such article exists." X trend page. A second trend page adds that "videos of paratroopers loading planes" fed the rumor. (captures: twitter/t49__v582.md, twitter/t49__v583.md)
- A British summary. The Independent, 7 March 2026, mentioned the canceled paratrooper exercise and said "no official orders have been given." The Independent. (capture: twitter/t49__v588.md)
- Araghchi on camera. The Iranian minister's line Okunevich reports appears in a 13 March 2026 clip: "No, we are waiting for them." Libertarian Party on X. (capture: twitter/t56__v672.md)
- What happened later with the 82nd. Two to three weeks after this column, reports did move the division. A 24 March 2026 post, citing Fox News, said Maj. Gen. Brandon Tegtmeier, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, was deploying "with his entire headquarters staff to the Middle East." Around 25 March a Pentagon official confirmed to Fox's Liz Friden that "Elements of 82nd Airborne, including 1st Brigade Combat Team" were "deploying to Middle East." The destination in both is the Middle East, not Iran. Post citing Fox. (captures: twitter/t13__v156.md, twitter/t50__v591.md)
What it shows
On 6 March 2026 an Israeli Russian-language channel told its audience that talk of a US ground invasion was getting louder, and that it was "logical to expect" airborne and special forces to be used. Within three weeks the 82nd Airborne's brigade was ordered to the region and CBS had reported detailed ground preparations (The Buildup, Pentagon Ground Plans 2026). The commentator's expectation was a step ahead of the official line, not behind it.
Check it yourself
Status: Donald Trump is alive. Abbas Araghchi is alive. Stanislav Okunevich is alive.
Research captures: twitter/t49__v582.md, twitter/t49__v583.md, twitter/t49__v588.md, twitter/t56__v672.md, twitter/t13__v156.md, twitter/t50__v591.md
Last Updated: 2026-09-26