Washington – The Pentagon’s acting chief, Patrick Shanahan, last week presented a plan to deploy up to 120,000 US troops in the Middle East in the face of escalating tension with Iran, The New York Times reported on Monday.
Shanahan presented the plan at a meeting last Thursday in which the top advisers in national security of US President Donald Trump participated, although it is not clear if the president has been informed, according to the Times.
Among those who attended the meeting was the White House National Security Advisor, John Bolton, who since his arrival in Trump’s circle of confidence has promoted a policy of confrontation with Tehran.
The plan does not contemplate an invasion of Iran, for which more troops would be needed, according to the New York newspaper.
US President Donald Trump warned Iran on Monday that it “will suffer a lot” if it acts against the interests of the United States, at a time of strong tensions between the two countries, and friction between Tehran and its neighbors in the Persian Gulf. .
“If they do something, it will be a very serious mistake, it will be a very bad problem for Iran if something happens, I can tell you, they will not be happy,” Trump responded when asked about the increase in tensions in the Persian Gulf.
“If they do something, they will suffer a lot, they know what I mean,” he added.
Since his arrival at the White House two more years ago, Trump has opted for the strategy promised in the campaign to withdraw US troops from countries in the Middle East, such as Syria, and Afghanistan.
The tension in the Persian Gulf has increased, however, since Washington announced last April the end of the exemptions it had granted to eight nations or territories to continue buying oil from Iran.
As a result, the Iranian authorities threatened to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which crosses a large part of the world oil, if the sanctions imposed by the US. After withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear agreement, they are preventing their oil exports, which are vital for the country’s economy.
Due to the US sanctions and the failure of the rest of the nuclear agreement signatories (Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom and Germany) to counteract them, Iran informed on Wednesday that it suspends the application of some of its nuclear commitments.
The High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Policy, Federica Mogherini, called on Monday US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, visiting Brussels, “maximum containment and avoid any escalation of the military side” with Iran (EFE)
