President Trump said Friday an additional 1,500 troops will be deployed to the Middle East as a bulwark against Iran.
Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan confirmed the number in a statement shortly after Trump mentioned it while answering reporters’ questions on the White House lawn.
“We want to have protection. The Middle East, we’re going to be sending a relatively small number of troops, mostly protective,” Trump said. “It’ll be about 1,500 people.”
AP reported Thursday troop levels could reach as high as 10,000 while the Wall Street Journal said the number would be 3,000.
“The additional deployment to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility is a prudent defensive measure and intended to reduce the possibility of future hostilities,” Shanahan said in the Pentagon statement. “I remain committed to ensuring U.S. personnel have the force protection resources they need and deserve.”
The deployment will consist of a Patriot missile defense battalion, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft, an engineer element tasked with providing force protection improvement in the region, and a fighter squadron, according to Shanahan. The additions will bolster forces deployed to the region this month, including the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group, the USS Arlington amphibious warfare ship, and a task force of B-52 bombers.
Tensions between the United States and Iran have escalated in recent weeks. A rocket exploded close to the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday. While it is unclear who launched it, the model is known to be trafficked and used by Iran. This month, U.S. Central Command put troops in Iraq and Syria on high alert in response to intelligence indicating increased Iranian threats. The State Department also evacuated nonemergency personnel from Iraq.
