This handout picture released by the US Army shows U.S. Army Paratroopers assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, deploy from Pope Army Airfield, North Carolina on January 1, 2020. – Paratroopers from 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division were activated and deployed to the U.S. Central Command area of operations in response to recent events in Iraq. (Photo by Capt. Robyn Haake / US ARMY / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO / Capt. Robyn J. Haake / US ARMY ” – NO MARKETING – NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS (Photo by CAPT. ROBYN HAAKE/US ARMY/AFP via Getty Images)
The United States is weighing sending up to 10,000 extra troops to the Middle East, US media reported Friday, as speculation grows that Washington may be preparing a ground operation in Iran.
The deployment would mark a significant boost to Washington’s military presence in the region, despite US President Donald Trump insisting that Tehran was taking part in peace talks with Washington to end the war.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the move would aim to provide Trump with “more military options” in the Middle East, engulfed by war since US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.
The troops would join thousands of paratroopers and Marines who have already been ordered to the region.
An Iranian official said Wednesday that Tehran would retaliate to a ground invasion of its territory by Washington by activating its Houthi rebels in Yemen to attack shipping in the Red Sea.
That would open up a new front in a war of spiralling economic, political and military repercussions.
Trump has repeatedly said he does not plan to send ground troops into combat with Iran.
“It is unclear where precisely forces will go in the Middle East, but they will likely be within striking distance of Iran and Kharg Island, a crucial oil export hub off Iran’s coast,” the Journal said.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.
Trump has pushed back his deadline for strikes on Iran’s energy assets, assuring that talks on ending the war were “going very well.”
Israel’s military, meanwhile, said early Friday that it carried out “a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime in the heart of Tehran”.
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