US Department of Defense officials are expected to brief US President Donald Trump’s national security team on a plan to send thousands of troops to the Middle East to further deter Iran, several MSM outlets report.
The rumor of the deployment comes a day after Acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan announced that Iran’s possibility of attack on Americans was defeated.
Unnamed US officials told CNN’s Barbara Starr that no official decision about the deployment have been made.
https://twitter.com/barbarastarrcnn/status/1131304312997634048
“They also say all the troops might not be needed at once. Some could be sent quickly as a deterrence measure, others might only be sent if tensions rise to the point the US believes an attack is imminent.”
The alleged increase request was made by US Central Command, which was designated as a terrorist organization by the Iranian parliament.
According to CNN, in addition to the troops, other military capabilities would also possibly be deployed to the Middle East. These include, “additional ballistic missile defense systems, Tomahawk cruise missiles on submarines, and surface ships with land attack capabilities for striking at a long range.”
CNN previously reported that US officials calculate more than 100,000 troops would be needed for a comprehensive strike against Iran. In that scenario, the US would try to destroy Iran’s air defenses, warships and missiles before striking nuclear targets.
And it also followed rumors that the US was planning to deploy 120,000 troops to counter Iran, which have since been rebuked.
Reuters reported that the number of troops possibly to be deployed is 5,000.
The Pentagon declined to comment.