According to the Washington Post, the United States is preparing for operations in Iran. This revelation comes as an American amphibious assault ship was deployed to the Middle East.
The Pentagon is gearing up for weeks-long operations in Iran, as reported by the Washington Post on Saturday, citing American officials. This comes at a time when the United States is strengthening its presence in the Middle East.
The operations are not expected to lead to a large-scale invasion of Iran, American officials emphasized anonymously. Instead, they are likely to involve raids on Iranian territory by special forces and other soldiers.
3,500 new soldiers deployed
It was unclear on Saturday whether Donald Trump would approve any, all, or none of the Pentagon’s plans. The information from the Washington Post coincided with the arrival of the amphibious assault ship Tripoli in the region, announced by the American military on Saturday.
The carrier is leading a naval group with around “3,500” sailors and Marines, according to the US Central Command.
The ship’s arrival follows comments from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday, who suggested that the US could achieve its goals in Iran without deploying ground troops.
However, there has been ambiguity from Donald Trump in recent weeks on this matter, with reports suggesting that the president is considering sending at least 10,000 troops to the Middle East soon.
