Pentagon weighs airborne brigade deployment as Iran tensions rise

The Pentagon is weighing deployment of a roughly 3,000-soldier airborne brigade that can deploy within 18 hours. The consideration follows recent Iranian missile activity that has raised U.S. threat assessments in the region. Officials describe the move as contingency planning, but ordering the brigade would signal a sharper U.S. military posture. A deployment would raise the risk of wider regional escalation and affect allied planning and global energy markets.