Washington DC [US], March 25 : Despite claims by US President Donald Trump that negotiations with Iran were underway and the conflict could soon end, the Pentagon is expected to deploy troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East as the war enters its fourth week, according to CBS News.
The news report said, citing a source familiar with the planning, that the Pentagon is planning to send elements of the division, including a command component and some ground forces, to the region.
Citing a US official, CBS reported that the deployment could involve fewer than 1,500 troops.
US President Trump had earlier confirmed that negotiations were on with Iran, claiming that the war was going to end.
"We're in negotiations right now. I can tell you, they'd like to make a deal and who wouldn't if you were there? Look, their navy's gone, their air force is gone, their communications are gone. pretty much everything they have is gone. I think we are going to end it. I cannot tell you for sure. We have won this... We literally have planes flying over Tehran and other parts of their country. They can't do a thing about it. For instance, if I want to take down that power plant, they can't do a thing about it... They are totally defeated... Militarily, they are dead," he said.
The Iranian perspective on the ongoing conflict, however, differed from US President Trump's claims. In a video posted by Fars News, the Iranian Military spokesperson took a jibe at the US, saying that the situation had reached a stage where the Americans were negotiating with themselves.
"The strategic power you used to boast about has now turned into a strategic defeat...Do not label your defeat as an 'agreement.' The era of your promises has come to an end. Today, there are two fronts in the world: Truth and Falsehood. No freedom-seeking truth-seeker will be deceived by your media waves. The level of your internal conflicts has reached the stage where you are negotiating with yourselves. There will be no more talk of your investments in the region, nor will you ever see the former prices of energy and oil again, until you understand that stability in this region is guaranteed only by the powerful hand of our armed forces," the spokesperson said.
Also, Iran released footage of the 80th wave of Operation True Promise 4, launching missiles towards US-Israeli positions in the region even as US President Trump indicated that a negotiated settlement was on the horizon.
There has, been no formal response from the Iranian side to the latest overture from Trump. The Iranians on Tuesday had denied reports of any negotiations with the US, claiming that peace would only be achieved once the US-Israel stopped its campaign. With the Iranian military taking a belligerent stand even as it launched wave 80 of its retaliatory strikes, peace remains elusive in West Asia.
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