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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Pentagon mulling military request to send 5,000 troops to Middle East: officials |
| 2019-05-23 |
| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Defense is considering a U.S. military request to send about 5,000 additional troops to the Middle East amid increasing tensions with Iran, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday. Tehran and Washington have this month been escalating rhetoric against each other, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to try to cut Iran’s oil exports to zero and beef up the U.S. military presence in the Gulf in response to what he said were Iranian threats. The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the request had been made by U.S. Central Command, but added that it was not clear whether the Pentagon would approve the request. The Pentagon regularly receives - and declines - requests for additional resources from U.S. combatant commands throughout the world. One of the officials said the requested troops would be defensive in nature. It is unclear if any specific request will ultimately be presented to the White House. The request for 5,000 additional troops was first reported by Reuters. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |