A US defense official said Friday that the United States is deploying about 3,500 additional troops to the Middle East, in a show of strength after the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Iraq.
The reinforcements come from a rapid reaction force of the 82nd Airborne Division, which was put on high alert after attacking the US embassy in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, according to a statement by a Pentagon spokesman.
The source explained that "this battalion will be deployed in Kuwait, which is an appropriate and preventive measure in response to the increasing level of threat against American forces and installations."
The US Army's Chief of Staff, General Mark Millie, said in a media interview Thursday that other forces could be sent as needed.
Millie added that, in addition to the 750 soldiers sent to Kuwait shortly after the American embassy was attacked on Tuesday, "the President approved the deployment of the Rapid Response Force and an operational battalion of the 82nd Airborne Division."
With this batch, the entire 82nd Airdrop Division would have been sent to the Middle East.
General Melli added, "We have put other forces on alert and the order to deploy them has not yet been decided, but we have many prepared and prepared forces, (we are moving them) according to the development of the situation."
An American bombing targeted the commander of the Qods Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Qassem Soleimani, and Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, deputy commander of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces, at dawn Friday near Baghdad International Airport.
Tehran quickly vowed revenge for Soleimani's death, and threats were issued by regional allies, including the Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen.