The United States is not considering sending 14,000 American troops to the Middle East, the Pentagon said in a statement today. But a spokesperson did not rule out deploying more forces to the region amid reports of increased threats from Iran after lawmakers grilled the Defense Department’s top policy official earlier in the day.
The denial from the Pentagon marks the third time the agency has sought to refute a Wall Street Journal report indicating that the United States was considering doubling the number of troops sent to counter Iran’s military activity. The news came after the US Navy seized a cache of missiles allegedly made by Iran and bound for Yemen by sea earlier this week. The New York Times reported that Tehran had shifted short-range missiles into Iraq.
