The Donald Trump administration OK’d sending a bevy of fresh troops and weapons to the Middle East after receiving intelligence that signaled Iranian plans for a “campaign” against American forces, a top international policy official said today.
Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Kathryn Wheelbarger said at an Al-Monitor Middle East Mornings breakfast event that sophisticated attacks against tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates last month pushed the US administration to respond by sending a carrier strike group, a suite of bombers, engineering assets and 1,500 American troops to the region.