WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon on Thursday denied reports that Washington planned to send 14,000 troops to the Middle East and dozens of warships to confront Iran.
The denial, reported by a Pentagon spokeswoman, comes shortly after the Wall Street Journal published a report in which it quoted US officials as saying US military reinforcements also included sending dozens of ships and other military equipment.
President Trump is expected to decide on the deployment of new US reinforcements later this month, the newspaper said.
The Wall Street Journal report said the new reinforcements were designed to deter Iran from taking action in response to mounting US sanctions, and that an attack on US interests in the region would prompt Washington to respond militarily.
Since May, Washington has sent 14,000 US troops to the Middle East in the context of tensions with Iran leading to an Iranian-American military confrontation over the targeting of tankers and cargo ships near the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, the downing of a US drone in the Gulf, and then the attack on two facilities of the company. Aramco Eastern Saudi Arabia.
Recent US reinforcements included sending about 3,000 troops, missile systems and a strategic bomber to Saudi Arabia. Riyadh confirmed in October that it had decided to receive US reinforcements to protect regional security and counter attempts to threaten regional stability.
CNN quoted Pentagon and administration officials as warning them of a possible Iranian threat to US forces and interests in the Middle East.
A Pentagon official confirmed to the network that this intelligence has been repeated in recent weeks and that it was collected last November from military and intelligence agencies.
The official said that it was noted the presence of movements of Iranian forces and weapons in recent weeks, raising Washington's fear of the possibility of using these weapons in a possible attack against it.