Pentagon officials are scheduled to brief senior members of President Donald Trump’s national security team as soon as Thursday on a plan that could send thousands of additional US troops to the Middle East amid rising tensions with Iran, according to three US officials familiar with the effort.
It wasn’t immediately clear who called for the meeting and it is not yet certain if Trump will attend, though his approval would be needed for such a significant deployment of troops.
News of the gathering is likely to reignite debate about the administration’s goals. It would come just two days after acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan declared Tuesday on Capitol Hill that the US does not want the situation to escalate and does not seek a war.
Shanahan had been briefing lawmakers angry at being kept in the dark about the administration’s motives for sending warships to the Middle East to counter Iran, which was followed by a steady drumbeat of further leaks from US officials about Iranian military movements that they say constitute a threat.
The military capabilities being discussed include sending additional ballistic missile defense systems, Tomahawk cruise missiles on submarines, and surface ships with land attack capabilities for striking at a long range. Specific weapons systems and units have not been identified.
CNN has previously reported that US officials calculate more than 100,000 troops would be needed for a comprehensive strike against Iran. In that scenario, the US would try to destroy Iran’s air defenses, warships and missiles before striking nuclear targets.
But this latest discussion on additional forces is directly tied to the intelligence the Trump administration says it has had since early May that Iran was planning for a possible attack on US forces and interests in the region — intelligence that has been contested by Democrats and undermined by the President himself.
