US considers sending thousands of troops to Middle East, Reuters reports
Washington considers various operations, but Trump will make final decision (photo: Getty Images)
The Trump administration is considering sending thousands of US troops to strengthen its operation in the Middle East. Preparations are currently underway for possible next steps against Iran, Reuters reports.
The agency writes that the deployment of troops could give US President Donald Trump additional options when considering expanding US operations, given that the war with Iran has been ongoing for a third week.
According to sources, these options include ensuring the safe passage of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, which would be carried out mainly by air and naval forces. However, securing the Strait could also mean deploying US troops on the Iranian coast.
In addition, Trump's team discussed options for sending ground troops to Iran's Kharg Island, which is the center of 90% of Iran's oil exports. But such an operation, as a US official says, would be very risky, since Iran can strike the island with missiles and drones.
In addition to these options, representatives of the Trump administration discussed the possibility of deploying US troops to secure Iran's stockpiles of highly enriched uranium.
Sources do not believe that deployment of ground troops anywhere in Iran is inevitable, but declined to discuss details of US operational planning. Experts say that the task of securing Iran's uranium stockpiles would be extremely complex and risky even for US special forces.
At the same time, a White House representative said that no decision on sending ground troops has yet been made, but Trump "wisely keeps all options at his disposal".
"The president is focused on achieving all of the defined objectives of Operation Epic Fury: destroy Iran's ballistic missile capacity, annihilate their navy, ensure their terrorist proxies cannot destabilize the region, and guarantee that Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon," the White House official added.
Peace or continuation of war
Recently, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated that America has defeated Iran, but not completely.
Based on his statements, the United States is not yet ready to agree to end the war, since the conditions are not yet good enough. A few days later, Trump repeated that he will not end the war for now, but added that Washington will do so in the near future.
At the same time, The Washington Post published a report stating that the Pentagon is requesting 200 billion dollars for the war against Iran.
