WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is weighing multiple options on sending thousands of U.S. troops into Iran as he looks to end the war, according to the two officials familiar with the discussions.
As Trump grapples with a looming global energy crisis, mounting political backlash from some of his own supporters, and emerging disagreements between the U.S. and its Middle East allies regarding the war’s direction, he must carefully consider his options.
CBS News reported Pentagon officials have made detailed preparations for deploying U.S. ground forces into Iran. Trump was questioned about the reports of putting troops inside Iran on Thursday.
No, I’m not putting troops anywhere,” he told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about ground troops, but then added: “If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you.”
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement on Friday, “As President Trump said, he has no plans to send troops anywhere — but he wisely does not broadcast his military strategy to the media.”
Reuters reported some of the targets for U.S. ground troops in Iran that the president is considering. Thousands of Marines are currently being relocated to the Middle East. Earlier this week, two U.S. officials reported that three warships and approximately 2,200 Marines from an expeditionary unit departed California.
On Wednesday, Israel attacked an Iranian gas field that is the world’s largest. Iran retaliated by hitting energy targets in the region, including a field in Qatar. Afterward, Trump posted on social media that Israel would no longer strike Iran’s energy sites as long as Iran also stood down, and said the U.S. “knew nothing about” Israel’s attack in advance. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that “Israel acted alone.”
The majority of voters — 54% — disapprove of Trump’s handling of the war in Iran, according to a NBC News poll earlier this month.
