The Pentagon has ordered about 2,000 soldiers from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division to deploy to the Middle East, according to two officials briefed on the diplomacy, even as the United States has sent Iran a 15-point plan for ending the war in the region.
The order to move troops to the region aimed to give President Trump more military options even as he weighed the new diplomatic initiative with Iran, two Defense Department officials said on Tuesday. The plan to end the conflict also reflected the Trump administration’s desire to find an offramp to a war that has rattled the global economy.
It was unclear if Iran would accept the plan, sent via Pakistan, as a basis for negotiations, or whether Israel, which has been bombing Iran together with the United States for nearly four weeks, was on board.
Mr. Trump, speaking on a day in which Iran sent missiles across the Middle East, said on Tuesday that negotiations to end the war were taking place and that the Iranians would like “to make a deal.”
Iran has maintained publicly that no negotiations are happening. But speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump said that not only were they occurring, but Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were joining his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Steve Witkoff, one of his most senior advisers, in the talks.
The forces ordered to the Middle East would come from the division’s “Immediate Response Force,” a brigade of about 3,000 soldiers capable of deploying anywhere in the world within 18 hours, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters. It was unclear where the paratroopers would go, but the location would be within striking distance of Iran, the officials said.
Mr. Trump has cast Iran as a nation so near military defeat that it had little choice but to negotiate. The Iranians made clear on Tuesday, however, that they could still lash out across the region. The country’s missiles targeted Israel and Iraq, and Persian Gulf nations reported new strikes despite claims by American and Israel officials that the Iranian ballistic missile program has been severely battered.
The Israeli authorities said a direct hit in Tel Aviv caused extensive damage to at least three residential buildings. At least six people were treated for injuries in Tel Aviv, according to the national emergency service. In addition, one woman was killed and two others wounded in northern Israel on Tuesday after an intense afternoon of rocket and drone fire from Lebanon, officials from the Israeli military and emergency service said.
Mr. Trump, asked why he appeared willing to consider a cease-fire with the Iranians, told a reporter: “They’re talking to us, and they’re making sense.”
Though Iran has taken a public stance denying that negotiations are taking place, according to four Iranian officials and an Iranian diplomat, Tehran and Washington have been exchanging messages through intermediaries about de-escalating the conflict.
Mr. Trump dodged a question about a report in The New York Times that the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, was encouraging him to pursue the war. “He’s a warrior,” he said. “He’s fighting with us.”
Here’s what else we’re covering:
Lebanon: Israel’s defense minister said its military would expand its occupation of southern Lebanon, retaining control of territory south of the Litani River. The waterway has long served as a geographic boundary in conflicts between Israel and Hezbollah.
Energy crisis: The international benchmark for crude oil traded above $100 on Tuesday as the global economy grappled with oil shortages. The Philippines declared a state of national energy emergency, and South Korea urged people to take shorter showers to help cope with the energy crisis.
Strait of Hormuz: Iran has told the United Nations’ maritime organization that “non-hostile” ships may pass safely through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed since the U.S.-Israeli military campaign began last month. Iran defined nonhostile vessels as those that “neither participate in nor support acts of aggression against Iran” or belong to the United States or Israel, but it was unclear if any ships would try passing through.
Iran: A former Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps general, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, was named as Iran’s top security official, an aide to the Iranian president announced on Tuesday. He replaced Ali Larijani, who was killed in an Israeli attack.
Death tolls: Iran’s U.N. ambassador has said that at least 1,348 civilians have been killed in the country since the start of the war — a toll that has not been updated since March 11. The Human Rights Activists News Agency has reported that more than 1,440 civilians have been killed in Iran. More than 1,000 people in Lebanon have been killed, the authorities there said on Thursday. At least 15 people were killed in Iranian attacks on Israel, officials said. The American death toll stands at 13 service members.
Oil prices dropped and stocks in Asia jumped in continued volatile trading on Wednesday, as investors reacted to signals of a possible de-escalation of the war in the Middle East.
President Trump said on Tuesday that negotiations to end the war were taking place and that the Iranians would like “to make a deal.” The United States sent Iran a 15-point plan for ending the war in the Middle East.
And in a letter circulated to the United Nations’ maritime organization on Tuesday, Iran said it was willing to let ships not tied to the United States or Israel to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. The letter was dated March 22.
Oil reverses price gains.
The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, was about $97 a barrel on Wednesday. It settled at $104.49 a barrel, up about 4 percent, on Tuesday.
West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, was around $90 a barrel on Wednesday. It settled at $92.35 a barrel on Tuesday, almost 5 percent higher.
Investors and analysts are focused on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that is a vital trading route for oil and natural gas that normally carries as much as one-fifth of the world’s oil supply. Shipping traffic exiting the Persian Gulf through the strait has been effectively halted since the war began on Feb. 28. More recently, attacks on energy infrastructure, by both Israel and Iran, have raised concerns about longer-lasting damage to the world’s oil and gas supply.
Stocks in Asia rise.
Stocks in Asia were higher on Wednesday. The Nikkei 225 in Japan jumped nearly 3 percent and the Kospi index in South Korea rose 1.7 percent. Stocks in China were up 1 percent.
S&P 500 futures contracts, which let investors bet on the direction of the market when stocks resume trading in the United States, were up 0.6 percent.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.3 percent, recovering from a drop of almost 1 percent earlier in the day. Stocks in Europe were mixed and higher in Asia.
Gasoline prices went up.
Gas prices rose on Tuesday, jumping to a national average of $3.98 a gallon, according to the AAA motor club. The increase raised the cost for drivers 34 percent since the war began.
Diesel prices have increased even more quickly and stood at $5.35, up 42 percent since the start of the war.
Reporting from Washington
The Pentagon has ordered about 2,000 soldiers from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division to begin moving to the Middle East to give President Trump additional military options even as he weighs a new diplomatic initiative with Iran, two Defense Department officials said on Tuesday.
The combat forces would come from the division’s “Immediate Response Force,” a brigade of about 3,000 soldiers capable of deploying anywhere in the world within 18 hours.
The contingent includes Maj. Gen. Brandon R. Tegtmeier, the division commander, and dozens of his staff members, as well as two battalions, each with about 800 soldiers, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters. More of the brigade’s soldiers could be sent in the coming days, the officials said.
Taken together with some 4,500 Marines already en route to the region, the deployment of the elite Army forces brings the total number of additional ground troops dispatched to the war zone since the conflict started to nearly 7,000, and marks a new escalation in the conflict.
About 50,000 troops are assigned to the overall operation the Pentagon calls Epic Fury, from across the Middle East, Europe and the United States.
It is unclear where the Army paratroopers will go in the Middle East, but the location would be within striking distance of Iran, the officials said. For instance, the paratroopers could be used to seize Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub in the northern Persian Gulf, where U.S. warplanes bombed more than 90 military targets earlier this month.
About 2,300 Marines from the 31st Expeditionary Unit are scheduled to arrive in the Middle East later this week, and U.S. commanders could also use them to seize Kharg Island or to help clear the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has effectively closed the strategic waterway to most commercial traffic. A similar number of Marines from the 11th Expeditionary Unit left Southern California last week, and are expected to arrive in the region by mid-April, Pentagon officials said.
The airfield on Kharg Island was damaged by the recent U.S. strikes, so former U.S. commanders said it was more likely to first bring in the Marines, whose combat engineers could quickly repair airport infrastructure. Once the airfield is repaired, the Air Force could start sending in matériel and troops, if necessary, by C-130 cargo planes.
In that scenario, it is possible that the troops from the 82nd Airborne would augment the Marines. Even though paratroopers can arrive overnight, they do not bring heavy equipment, such as heavily armored vehicles, that would offer protection if Iranian forces counterattacked, current and former officials said.
Iran has told the United Nations’ maritime organization that “non-hostile” ships may pass safely through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that has been effectively closed to tankers since the U.S.-Israeli military campaign began last month.
In a letter circulated to members of the International Maritime Organization on Tuesday, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs defined nonhostile vessels as those which “neither participate in nor support acts of aggression against Iran” or belong to the United States or Israel.
Fearing Iran’s attacks on shipping, tanker operators stopped sending their ships into the strait, through which a fifth of the world's oil and gas travels in normal times.
In its letter, dated March 22, Iran said it had taken “necessary and proportionate measures to prevent the aggressors and their supporters from exploiting the Strait of Hormuz.”
It is not clear whether the letter will persuade many shipowners to once again travel through the strait. A widespread return may only happen if there is an agreement between the United States and Israel and Iran to end the war.
Iran’s letter said “the full restoration of security and sustainable stability in the strait is contingent upon the cessation of military aggression and threats.”
President Trump said on Tuesday that negotiations were underway with Iran to end the war and that Iran would like “to make a deal.” Iran’s public stance is that negotiations are not taking place, but Iranian officials say Tehran and Washington have been exchanging messages through intermediaries about de-escalating the conflict.
Iran’s letter is intended to signal to the I.M.O. that Iran has not imposed a formal blockade of the strait, said Dimitris Ampatzidis, a senior risk and compliance analyst at Kpler, a maritime data firm.
Around 800 tankers are idling on either side of the strait, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. A small number of ships have gone through the waterway in recent days, according to MarineTraffic, a division of Kpler, suggesting Iran is allowing the passage of certain ships.
The drastic reduction in oil and gas shipments out of the Gulf is causing serious economic disruption around the world, and especially in Asia. While many established shipping companies may not risk going through the strait without a peace deal, Asian countries dependent on Middle East oil and gas may send tankers through if they trust Iran’s assurances.
In the letter, Iran said ships going through the strait would have to “fully comply with the declared safety and security regulations,” but it did not detail any rules.
According to Kpler, 17 ships have been struck in the Middle East since the war began on Feb. 28.
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