The U.S. Department of Defense is planning to deploy a brigade combat team from the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, The Wall Street Journal reported on March 24. The deployment will include roughly 3,000 soldiers, and formal approval is expected within the next few hours.

The deployment of the brigade from the 82nd Airborne Division will complement the USS Tripoli ARG that was ordered to deploy to the region from Japan earlier in March. The Pentagon has also ordered a second ARG, en route from California, to be deployed to the region, and it is expected to arrive by mid-April. The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps are also reportedly flying in land-based F-35C fighter jets to complement the carrier-based F-35Cs already in the Middle East, as well as F-35Bs aboard the Tripoli ARG. Meanwhile, the United States has reportedly requested high-level peace talks with Iranian officials as early as March 26, but Iranian officials have not responded to the request.