The Pentagon is considering sending up to 10,000 additional troops to the Middle East to expand President Donald Trump’s military options amid tension with Iran, according to Defense Department sources interviewed by the Wall Street Journal.
According to the newspaper, the contingent would include infantry troops and armored vehicles, adding to the approximately 5,000 marines and thousands of paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division already deployed to the region.
Still according to the WSJit is not defined which countries the troops would be sent to, but the assessment is that they will be in an attack position against Iran and the island of Kharg, one of the country’s main oil export points.
Trump has repeated that he intends to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, blocked by Iran, “with or without” the support of allies.
According to White House deputy spokeswoman Anna Kelly, any announcement about troop movements will be made by the War Department. US Central Command, responsible for forces in the Middle East, did not comment on the report. WSJ.
