U.S. intelligence agencies had already done the groundwork needed to locate a missing colonel inside Iran, Paul Mauro said Monday, arguing the operation relied on intelligence gathered well before the mission began.

"You've got to collect, you collect, you collect and a lot of it sometimes you're never going to use," Mauro told "Fox & Friends."

"The key is when you need it, it has to be there."

Mauro pointed to the Maduro case, which unfolded at the behest of the Trump administration in January, noting U.S. forces' ability to pinpoint where the Venezuelan dictator and his wife were going to be at the time in order to make an effective capture.

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"They got him as they were running to a safe room without a scratch. Everybody comes out without a scratch," he said.

"They got them as they were fleeing. That's how detailed the messaging was, and that's how synchronized the operation was."

Mauro said that same level of preparation and coordination was on display in the Iran mission, where U.S. forces rescued a missing U.S. weapons systems officer from a downed F-15E following a multi-day search inside enemy territory.

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U.S. intelligence was able to act quickly to retrieve the missing colonel once his location was confirmed.

"[This] was one of those situations where the bell rang. 'Guys, what [have] you got?' President turns around, [War Secretary] Hegseth turns around, [and] they all talk to [CIA Director John] Ratcliffe and they say, 'What [have] you got, director?' and fortunately it was there."

Mauro said the operation highlights a broader fact about intelligence work that is apparent to those working within its community: its success comes down to the people running the sources.

"At the end of the day… it comes down to people," he said.

"If you think that you can sit in a cubicle someplace and get everything you need to be done, that's not how it's going to go. You need people in country, in dangerous areas, Americans working on our behalf that you'll never hear about... they're running the sources so that, again, when you need it, they say, 'My source is good.'"

Iran is responding boldly Sunday to reports the U.S. might be prepping ground forces for the next stage of its designs to root out its nuclear weapons aspirations and chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz.

"As long as the Americans seek Iran's surrender, our response is that we will never accept humiliation," Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said Sunday.

Iranian forces "are waiting for the arrival of American troops on the ground to set them on fire and punish their regional partners forever," he added.

"Our firing continues. Our missiles are in place. Our determination and faith have increased."

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The speaker's statements came after a report from The Washington Post claiming the Trump administration and War Department are preparing alternatives for Trump to deploy ground forces, perhaps to secure remnants of the targeted Iranian nuclear program or root out further Iranian aggression to free up oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz choke point.

The Post reported Saturday, citing anonymous sources, that the Pentagon is preparing options for potential U.S. ground operations in Iran that could last weeks if Trump approves an escalation. The plans reportedly envision limited raids by Special Operations and conventional forces rather than a full-scale invasion, with possible targets including Kharg Island and coastal weapons sites near the Strait of Hormuz.

"It’s the job of the Pentagon to make preparations in order to give the commander in chief maximum optionality," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Post in a statement, echoing remarks made during a press briefing this week. "It does not mean the president has made a decision."

Fox News reached out to the Pentagon for comment Sunday morning.

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Reuters separately reported that the administration has considered sending thousands of additional troops to the region and that Trump has weighed the use of ground forces to seize Kharg Island. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the United States is not currently postured for ground operations, which would give Trump "maximum" flexibility, but said objectives can be achieved without them.

The prospect of U.S. troops entering Iran remains politically divisive and militarily hazardous, with analysts warning that even a limited seizure of territory could expose American forces to sustained counterattacks and complicate efforts to end the war quickly.

Washington has dispatched thousands of Marines to the Middle East, with the first of two contingents arriving on Friday aboard an amphibious assault ship, the U.S. military has said.

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The United States said last week it had offered a 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran, with a proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restrict Iran's nuclear program, but Tehran has rejected the list and put forward proposals of its own.

With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, there is also concern about shipping lanes around the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea after Yemen's Houthis entered the fray.

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Trump has threatened to hit Iranian power stations and other energy infrastructure if Iran does not open the Strait of Hormuz, though he has extended a deadline by 10 days.

Iranian threats against ships have kept most oil tankers from attempting the waterway. Iran has agreed to let an additional 20 Pakistani-flagged vessels pass through the strait, with two ships permitted to transit daily.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Iran could significantly increase U.S. casualties if its elite military and proxy forces shift to guerrilla-style hit-and-run attacks in the region, a leading military analyst has warned.

Michael Eisenstadt of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy spoke as the Pentagon moved elements of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division into the Middle East amid a new escalation in the conflict, according to reports.

"Iran has large infantry units in its military that are equivalent to the brigade combat team of the 82nd Airborne," Eisenstadt, a former U.S. Army Reserve officer, told Fox News Digital.

"The 82nd Force is too small to cause significant harm to Iran, but it is large enough to be vulnerable to Iranian strikes, and this would enable Iran to significantly increase U.S. casualties," he said.

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Eisenstadt, who has worked as a U.S. government military analyst, claimed that, even if major conventional operations begin to wind down in the Middle East region, the danger may only evolve rather than disappear.

"We could see an end to major combat operations, with activity shifting to guerrilla-style hit-and-run attacks in the Gulf and other gray-zone activities by Iran," he said.

"Think of the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War with Iraq, in which we had to contain the Iraqis for a decade after a very successful war."

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Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin reported Wednesday that the U.S. has ordered the deployment of additional 82nd Airborne forces to the region.

The contingent is expected to include Maj. Gen. Brandon R. Tegtmeier, the division commander, elements of his headquarters staff, and infantry battalions from the division’s Immediate Response Force. 

Officials also indicated that the total number of troops ultimately sent could still change.

Eisenstadt said this new deployment is intended to increase pressure on Tehran as the U.S. pushes for new ceasefire terms, set in place by President Donald Trump.

WINNING THE BATTLES, LOSING THE WAR? AMERICA MUST DEFINE THE ENDGAME IN IRAN

"This deployment is intended to create leverage over Iran and pressure it to accept U.S. terms for a ceasefire agreement. It would also create military options if Iran rejects those terms," he said.

In that scenario, he said, the 82nd could potentially operate alongside Marine expeditionary units in operations to seize and hold terrain, including Kharg Island, located roughly 20 miles off Iran’s Gulf coast.

U.S. forces struck military targets there March 13, destroying more than 90 Iranian military sites while deliberately sparing key oil infrastructure, according to multiple reports.

IRAN’S REMAINING WEAPONS: HOW TEHRAN CAN STILL DISRUPT THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ

"The brigade combat team of the 82nd could work with the 11th and 31st MEUs, or independently, to seize and hold terrain — such as Kharg Island," Eisenstadt said.

"This would provide leverage over Iran by denying it the ability to export oil and helping end the war on terms favorable to the U.S."

"There are risks involved though, because Iranian units on the mainland could bombard Kharg Island and inflict casualties on U.S. troops there also," Eisenstadt said.

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The latest military buildup comes as the conflict that began with Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28, has also centered on the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran restricting access.

"The 82nd deployment is intended to increase psychological pressure on Iran and support efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz so it can once again be used by all countries," Eisenstadt explained.

The 82nd Airborne is one of the U.S. military’s premier rapid-response units, trained to parachute into hostile or contested territory to secure key ground and airfields.

Portions of the division have also spent recent days at the Joint Readiness Training Center, sharpening infiltration, surveillance, combat and resupply skills, Axios reported.

"Iranian military officials have welcomed news of the dispatch of these units to the Gulf because it potentially creates options for them to impose costs on the U.S.," Eisenstadt said.

FIRST ON FOX: The United States is advancing a sweeping hemispheric security strategy aimed at dismantling transnational criminal organizations and countering the growing footprint of geopolitical rivals across Latin America, according to Joseph M. Humire, acting assistant secretary of War for Homeland Defense and Americas Security Affairs.

At the center of this effort is the "Shield of the Americas," a multi-layered initiative designed to integrate military, intelligence, and law enforcement capabilities across partner nations in the Western Hemisphere.

"Shield of the Americas is a presidential framing to form an alliance in the Western Hemisphere. The Americas Counter Cartel Coalition fits within it, but it's not exclusive to it. We now have 18 members in the coalition. And in the Shield, there are 13 countries," Humire said.

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"The proclamation that President Trump signed on March 7, was centered around the coalition, and the coalition is centered around having partner nations in Latin America start looking at partner-led, deterrence-focused operations against cartel infrastructure and targets inside their sovereign territory, both on land and in the maritime territory."

Humire said, "In the past, we would provide training, capacity building and a bunch of different things to our partners so that they could go after the cartels. What is different in this administration is we are now accompanying our partners to go after the shared threats. In some cases, we've already gotten permission to do that, like in Ecuador, where we have permission from President Daniel Noboa to not just advise and assist his military as they engage in counter-narcotic terrorist operations, but also accompany his military forces when they engage in those operations."

Humire says, "The second difference to previous administrations is that we are leaning in on deterrence-focused operations, which means we are encouraging our partners to use hard power to send a signal to the cartels to complement interdiction. We are still seizing narcotics. We're still arresting major cartel members. We are also now destroying cartel infrastructure and, in some cases, taking out cartel members. That's something that is new."

"Mexico is not a member of the coalition. We are encouraged by Mexico's recent operation against El Mencho. That was an offensive operation against a high-value individual tied to a major cartel. We look forward to Mexico becoming a member in the future. Our relationship with Mexico is very strong military-wise. We have done a lot of training and capacity building with Mexico. But as of today, we still don't have U.S. forces accompanying Mexico inside the sovereign territory of the country," he said.

"Mexico, like many countries, saw what happened in Venezuela and now understand that there's a partner of preference inside the Western Hemisphere and in the world, which is the United States, not China, Russia or Iran."

Pentagon actions under this framework include the deployment of additional surveillance assets, enhanced maritime patrol operations, and the integration of cyber capabilities to track and disrupt illicit networks. It has also prioritized capacity-building efforts to strengthen partner nations’ ability to sustain long-term counter-cartel operations.

CRUZ WARNED MEXICO OFFICIALS 'PRESIDENT TRUMP WAS GOING TO' ACT IF THEY DIDN'T FIGHT CARTELS

Humire continued, "This is a historic effort to put the Western Hemisphere as a top regional priority for U.S. national security in ways we have never done before. President Trump has made a monumental shift in U.S. foreign policy and national security."

Beyond cartel activity, the initiative reflects growing concern over the influence of China, Russia and Iran in the region.

Expanding Chinese infrastructure investments with dual-use potential, Iranian-linked networks tied to illicit finance and proxy activities and Russian disinformation campaigns are key threats to regional stability.

To counter these efforts, the Pentagon has increased intelligence cooperation with allied governments, expanded joint cybersecurity initiatives, and supported efforts to secure critical infrastructure from foreign control or exploitation. Military-to-military engagements have also been scaled up to reinforce alignment with U.S. strategic priorities.

"Since Secretary Hegseth and Secretary Rubio went to Panama last year, China has had significantly less influence inside that country. They lost access to the ports and are no longer advancing their investments," Humire said.

"China also had a lot of influence over the Panamanian government. That influence is no more. Panama has withdrawn from the Belt and Road Initiative, becoming the first country in Latin America to do so. From the Department of War, we have partnered with Panama to build up an enduring presence on the Panama Canal which includes a jungle operations school on the Atlantic side, and a joint security operation group on the Pacific side. This is all to advance security of the Panama Canal."

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Humire continued, "The stabilization efforts in Venezuela are going well. Despite Maduro's very close relationship with Iran, China and Russia, this was not enough to defend him. In the aftermath of Operation Absolute Resolve, we have seen tension among these different external actors, because while they had levels of cooperation, they don't have the same exact interests."

"This is evidenced by the fact that before, during and after Operation Absolute Resolve, neither Russia, China, or Iran, or even Cuba for that matter, were able to do anything to keep Nicolas Maduro in power. They might have sent some equipment and armament, but that didn't defend Maduro from that operation, and the Cuban security that was with him wasn't able to defend him. Russia, China, Iran or Cuba could not stop a very successful U.S. military action in support of U.S. law enforcement."

"The message to all the countries in Latin America, and frankly the world, is that they need to think twice when they partner with Russia, China or Iran because that partnership does not produce results," Humire said.

As part of its broader hemispheric strategy, the administration is also recalibrating its policy toward Cuba, viewing the island as a persistent security concern due to its ties with U.S. adversaries.

"The White House is leading conversations with Cuba in the aftermath of Venezuela. Cuba was reliant on subsidized oil from Venezuela, in exchange for security services. But those security services didn't do much for Venezuela when it mattered, so I believe there is a bit of a friction between the Cuban and Venezuelan governments," he said.

"The Western Hemisphere is our neighborhood; it is intricately tied to U.S. homeland defense. Hemispheric defense is and always has been a key part of U.S. homeland defense. Acknowledging this is why the Western Hemisphere is now a top priority for the Trump administration and especially for the Department of War, as reflected by official policy in the 2025 National Security Strategy and 2026 National Defense Strategy," Humire told Fox News Digital.