The U.S. is deploying 2,000-3,000 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne to the Middle East amid mixed signals about Iran negotiations, while Israel threatens a ground invasion of Lebanon using the "Gaza model" and Congress struggles to fund DHS as TSA workers remain unpaid. The 82nd Airborne deployment could serve as either a negotiating pressure tactic against Iran or signal imminent military action, with potential missions including seizure of Iran's oil export hub Karga Island. Israel's threatened invasion of Lebanon would displace hundreds of thousands of civilians and move the border northward 10-20 miles to the Litani River, mirroring tactics used in Gaza.