![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/868b80ca09a7fda9f467e17cdd9dee41ff-hegseth-troops.rsquare.w400.jpg\")
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\n Photo: Kent Nishimura\/AFP\/Getty Images\n <\/p>\n
While President Donald Trump<\/a> is projecting confidence about a nearing end to the protracted war in Iran that has progressed into its sixth month \u2014 with back-and-forth air strikes starting up again this week \u2014 the Pentagon is reportedly taking steps to extend the deployment of U.S. troops in the region.<\/p>\n The Wall Street Journal<\/a> reports that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth<\/a> intends to prolong the deployment of about 50,000 troops currently in the Middle East into 2027, per sources familiar with the discussions. According to the Journal, this will apply to currently deployed paratroopers, air-defense units, and fighter squadrons as well as 19 warships stationed throughout the region.<\/p>\n Meanwhile Trump apparently once again believes the war is at or near its end. Per the Journal<\/a>:<\/p>\n Privately, Trump is having discussions with senior aides about whether to declare the Iran war over, U.S. officials said, noting Trump has said he favors the idea. Trump also tells aides that he believes sticking with economic pressure will eventually force the regime either to dismantle its nuclear program or collapse, they said.<\/p>\n The deployment extensions come as top military officials have reportedly warned against deepening the war in Iran. The Washington Post<\/a> reported on Sunday that the heads of the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force advised Hegseth of the perils of prolonging military operations against Iran, saying that the move could negatively impact the military\u2019s ability to defend against other threats including those at home.<\/p>\n Earlier this week, the military newspaper Stars and Stripes<\/a> reported that servicemembers with the U.S. Army\u2019s 82nd Airborne Division learned their Middle East tours would likely be extended through a letter sent to troops and their families from the division\u2019s leadership. The 2027 extensions would likely include the division\u2019s air defense, sustainment, combat engineer, and artillery units. \u201cWe do not share that lightly, and we understand that a longer tour weighs heavily on every household, including our own,\u201d the letter read.<\/p>\n Extended tours have become a recurring theme of the conflict. The USS Abraham Lincoln docked in Thailand on Wednesday after the aircraft carrier spent more than nine months at sea and more than 200 days without a port of call in support of the military\u2019s operations in Iran. The USS Gerald R. Ford returned to its home port<\/a> in Virginia in May after an 11-month deployment supporting the nation\u2019s military actions in Venezuela and later the Iran war, breaking a record that stood since the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n Since the United States first struck Iran in February, Trump has claimed that the conflict would be swift and initially predicted a timeline of four to five weeks for the war. In the weeks and months since, peace talks have faltered amid sporadic attacks between the two countries and middling trade traffic through the Strait of Hormuz continues to have global impacts. Costs for the war have also ballooned with Hegseth revealing during congressional testimony in July <\/a>that the conflict will have cost the nation $37.5 billion from its beginning on February 28 through planned expenses ending on September 30. Some experts estimate the final tally<\/a> could be as much as $100 billion.<\/p>\n While polling shows Americans largely disapprove<\/a> of the Iran war, Trump publicly doesn\u2019t appear in a rush to negotiate an end to the conflict. \u201cI\u2019m not trying to force Iran to the bargaining table, as ABC Fake News reported. I couldn\u2019t care less if they sign a worthless, to them, agreement. I like our position now much better, with almost total control of the Hormuz Strait, and their economy totally collapsing,\u201d the president wrote on Truth Social<\/a> on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Hegseth has also been mired in controversy, juggling mounting criticism from members of Congress over the war and his leadership of the Pentagon as well as the ongoing turnover of longstanding military leaders. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, who had a tense relationship with the secretary, submitted his resignation<\/a> on Monday, becoming only the latest leader to exit during Hegseth\u2019s tenure.<\/p>\n Sign Up for the Intelligencer\u00a0Newsletter<\/p>\n Daily news about the politics, business, and technology shaping our world.<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n