The Trump administration is considering a variety of options for what a U.S. troop deployment into Iran could look like, according to multiple reports, with President Donald Trump mulling American boots on the ground as thousands of Marines are slated to soon deploy to the Middle East.
Key Facts
Trump is weighing options for troops on the ground, NBC News reported, citing two unnamed former U.S. officials and another person familiar with the matter who said one option would involve sending troops to Iranian ports or small islands in the Persian Gulf to free up the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping passage for oil.
Other options include a mission tasked with securing Iran’s uranium or oil facilities to try and leverage the country’s regime into concessions, the officials told NBC News, noting none of the options being seriously considered will be similar to the extensive, large deployments the U.S. military made into Iraq or Afghanistan.
“Detailed preparations” have been made by the Pentagon for a potential deployment of troops into Iran, according to unnamed sources who spoke to CBS News, which noted senior military commanders have made requests to prepare for ground operations.
Trump has not ruled out boots on the ground but said Thursday, “We’re not putting troops anywhere.”
The U.S. has roughly 50,000 troops in the Middle East across countries like Bahrain and Kuwait.
Forbes has reached out to the Department of Defense for comment.While Trump has repeatedly claimed the U.S. has already won the war against Iran, multiple developments point to a conflict that could potentially last beyond the four to five week timetable the president first estimated for it. The Pentagon is seeking an extra $200 billion in funding for the war, a figure Trump said Thursday was “a small price to pay to make sure that we stay tippy top.” About 2,500 Marines are also being deployed to the Middle East from California, with the troops slated to relieve a separate unit of Marines who were recently deployed to the region from Japan last week. The initial unit was made up of three warships, F-35B Lightning II jets and MV-22B Ospreys.
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