The United States is weighing sending up to 10,000 extra troops to West Asia, U.S. media reported on Friday (March 27, 2026), as speculation grows that Washington may be preparing a ground operation in Iran.

The deployment would mark a significant boost to Washington’s military presence in the region, despite U.S. President Donald Trump insisting that Tehran was taking part in peace talks with Washington to end the war.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the move would aim to provide Mr. Trump with “more military options” in West Asia, engulfed by war since U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.

The troops would join thousands of paratroopers and Marines who have already been ordered to the region.

An Iranian official said on Wednesday (March 26, 2026) that Tehran would retaliate to a ground invasion of its territory by Washington by activating its Houthi rebels in Yemen to attack shipping in the Red Sea.

That would open up a new front in a war of spiralling economic, political and military repercussions.

Mr. Trump has repeatedly said he does not plan to send ground troops into combat with Iran.

“It is unclear where precisely forces will go in the Middle East, but they will likely be within striking distance of Iran and Kharg Island, a crucial oil export hub off Iran’s coast,” the Journal said.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to AFP‘s request for comment.

Mr. Trump has pushed back his deadline for strikes on Iran’s energy assets, assuring that talks on ending the war were “going very well.”

Israel’s military, meanwhile, said early Friday (March 27, 2026) that it carried out “a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime in the heart of Tehran”.

Two ⁠sets of diplomatic negotiations, on Ukraine and Iran, are set to ‌take place in Geneva on Tuesday (February 17, 2026), a source ‌briefed on the ‌matter ⁠told Reuters on Friday (February 13, 2026).

A U.S. ⁠delegation including Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will meet with ​the Iranians ‌on Tuesday (February 17, 2026) morning, the source said. Representatives from Oman will be on hand ‌and mediate the U.S.-Iran contacts, ​the source said.

Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Kushner will then ⁠participate in trilateral talks with representatives from Russia and ‌Ukraine in the afternoon, the source said.

President Donald Trump is pressuring the Iranian government in the wake of its violent crackdown ‌on protesters and has amassed a ​large U.S. naval presence in the region.

He ⁠is also trying to coax ⁠Ukraine and Russia into an agreement to end ‌Moscow’s four-year-old invasion of Ukraine.

Rice exporters sought the Union Commerce Ministry’s help on Tuesday (January 13, 2026) to clear pending dues from importers in Iran amid growing civil unrest in that country, one of the major importers of basmati and other varieties of Indian rice. While Iran continues to be one of India’s most significant destinations for basmati rice, the current financial year has seen growing stress on order flows, payment cycles, and shipment schedules due to the prevailing instability in the country, the Indian Rice Exporters Federation (IREF) has said in an advisory issued to its members.

The IREF’s office-bearers met senior Commerce Ministry officials and apprised them of the situation. The IREF said in a release that the immediate fallout of the situation in Iran is evident in Indian markets too, where basmati prices have softened sharply within days.

“Exporters must exercise heightened caution, particularly with respect to credit exposure and shipment timelines,” the IREF’s statement said. India exported 5.99 lakh tonnes of basmati rice worth $468.10 million to Iran during April-November of the 2025-26 financial year, according to the IREF. The prices of popular domestic basmati rice varieties, including 1121, 1509, and 1718, have fallen by about ₹5 in a week.

“Iran has historically been a pillar market for Indian basmati. However, the current internal turmoil has disrupted trade channels, slowed payments and dented buyer confidence,” the IREF’s national president Prem Garg said in the statement.

“Importers have conveyed their inability to honour existing commitments and remit payments to India, creating uncertainty for exporters,” the IREF said.