WASHINGTON, Dec 6, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The United States said Thursday it was
considering deploying fresh forces to counter Iran, with an official saying
some 5,000 to 7,000 troops could head to the region.
Testifying before Congress, John Rood, the under secretary of defense for
policy, said that the United States was “observing Iran’s behavior with
concern.”
“We’re continuing to look at that threat picture and have the ability to
dynamically adjust our force posture,” Rood told the Senate Armed Services
Committee.
A US official told AFP on condition of anonymity that Defense Secretary
Mark Esper was considering plans to move between 5,000 and 7,000 troops to
the Middle East.
The official did not confirm where the troops would be sent, or in what
timeframe, but said that the deployment would be due to frustrations with
Iranian-linked groups’ attacks on US assets.
But Rood, under questioning, denied a report by The Wall Street Journal
that the United States was considering sending 14,000 more troops —
equivalent to the number sent over the past six months.
Esper also denied the 14,000 figure in a phone call with Senator Jim
Inhofe, the chairman of the committee, Pentagon spokeswoman Alyssa Farah
said.
Tensions have risen sharply with Iran since President Donald Trump last
year pulled out of a denuclearization pact and imposed sweeping sanctions,
including trying to block all its oil exports.
In September, the United States said Iran was responsible for attacks on
the major Abqaiq oil processing center in Saudi Arabia, a close US ally and
Iran’s regional rival.
The United States has also been alarmed by an uptick in attacks on bases in
Iraq, where major demonstrations triggered by economic discontent have also
targeted Iran’s clerical regime and its overwhelming influence in its Shiite-
majority neighbor.
“We’re lucky no one has been killed. There is a spike in rocket attacks,”
another US official said.
“It’s clearly not ISIS. Everything is going in the right direction and it’s
the right range,” the official said, contrasting Iranian capabilities with
those of the extremist Islamic State group.
Among the incidents, five rockets hit the Al-Asad Air Base on Tuesday, just
four days after US Vice President Mike Pence visited US troops there.
Iran denied involvement in the September attack in Saudi Arabia, which was
claimed by Yemen’s Tehran-backed Huthi rebels.
The tensions come as Iran itself has faced major protests set off by a
sharp hike in gas prices.