The United States could soon position more than 17,000 ground troops in and around the Middle East in a major military escalation linked to the ongoing conflict with Iran, according to The Wall Street Journal.
If approved by President Donald Trump, the deployment would add around 10,000 additional soldiers to forces already active in the region, signaling a possible shift toward expanded ground operations against Iranian targets.
If President Trump gives the go-ahead, the U.S. could soon have more than 17,000 ground troops on Iran’s doorstep. That is far short of what would be needed for a full-scale invasion, but they could seize strategic territory on the mainland, secure Tehran’s uranium stockpiles or…
— Lara Seligman (@laraseligman) March 27, 2026