US to send 1,000 more troops to Middle East amid Iran tensions

Acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan announced on Monday the deployment of about 1,000 more troops to the Middle East for what he said were “defensive purposes,” citing concerns about a threat from Iran.

“I have authorised approximately 1,000 additional troops for defensive purposes to address air, naval, and ground-based threats in the Middle East,” acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan said in a statement.

“The recent Iranian attacks validate the reliable, credible intelligence we have received on hostile behaviour by Iranian forces and their proxy groups that threaten United States personnel and interests across the region,” Shanahan said.

“The United States does not seek conflict with Iran,” the statement said, adding that the deployment is aimed “to ensure the safety and welfare of our military personnel working throughout the region and to protect our national interests”.

The announcement comes just hours after the US military released new pictures that it claimed showed Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were behind attacks on two tankers near the Strait of Hormuz.

Fears of a confrontation between Iran and the US have mounted since last Thursday when two oil tankers were attacked, drawing condemnation from the US and its regional allies, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Iran said on Monday it would soon breach limits on how much enriched uranium it can stockpile under a nuclear deal, which a White House National Security Council spokesman said amounted to “nuclear blackmail.”

The 2015 accord, which Iran and the other signatories have maintained following President Donald Trump’s decision, caps Iran’s stock of low-enriched uranium at 300 kg enriched to 3.67 percent.

Tensions between Tehran and Washington have escalated ever since the US quit the nuclear deal last May, with Washington bolstering its military presence in the region and blacklisting Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation.