Shanahan backs away from specific US troop increases in Middle East
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan on Thursday backed away from reports of Washington sending thousands of additional troops to the Middle East as Iran’s military officials say they are watching US maneuvers.
“I just want to make a couple of comments here about the process. There is no 10,000 and there's no 5,000. That's not accurate,” Shanahan told reporters on Thursday after receiving a delegation from Vietnam at the Pentagon.
The Associated Press reported earlier in the day citing anonymous officials that an additional 10,000 US forces may be deployed to the Middle East to beef up defenses against possible Iranian threats.
“That is not the number. What we're focused on right now is: Do we have the right force protection in the Middle East? And as soon as there's a change, I promise I'll give you an update. But those numbers are not correct,” Shanahan added.
The sources aren’t “feeding you the right information”, Shanahan claimed, saying they would announce any new changes.
The troop increases would come in the middle of escalations in the region. The US has already sent an aircraft carrier, destroyer ships, and four B-52 bombers to the region, in addition to station patriot missiles in an unknown country, against potential Iranian threats.
The Iranians, on their part, say they are watching. Tehran claims the United States wouldn’t dare to attack Iran.
“Armed forces monitor the dominant powers' conspiracies and movements,” the Iranian General Staff of the Armed Forces said on Thursday, according to the Islamic Republic’s state-run IRNA news outlet. The military body is the most senior in the country — apart from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The statement by Iran’s armed forces was on the occasion of the liberation of the port city of Khorramshahr on May 24, 1982 during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war, marking a turning point in the war.
“'The enemies should know that the Iranian military will not lose any single moment monitoring the enemies' conspiracies and adventurism, especially those of the US abominate [sic] administration,” IRNA quoted him as saying.
The model liberation for Khorramshahr is the “only prescription for countering the excessive demands of the world arrogance and hegemony,” Baqeri claimed.
Despite the belligerent attitudes and potential show of force, both sides have said that they don’t want war.
The current tensions have been ramping up increasingly over the past year. Last May, US President Donald Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, claiming the deal didn’t prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and it didn’t address its regional adventurism.
Since then, the US has re-imposed crippling sanctions that have hurt the Iranian economy, with the currency devaluing sharply. Trump has US sights aimed at Iran’s oil sector, with the goal of driving exports to zero.
Iran for its part has said that it will scale back its commitment to the nuclear deal if European cosigners don’t step up, and it has decided to increase the production of its low-enriched uranium four-fold.
“I just want to make a couple of comments here about the process. There is no 10,000 and there's no 5,000. That's not accurate,” Shanahan told reporters on Thursday after receiving a delegation from Vietnam at the Pentagon.
The Associated Press reported earlier in the day citing anonymous officials that an additional 10,000 US forces may be deployed to the Middle East to beef up defenses against possible Iranian threats.
“That is not the number. What we're focused on right now is: Do we have the right force protection in the Middle East? And as soon as there's a change, I promise I'll give you an update. But those numbers are not correct,” Shanahan added.
The sources aren’t “feeding you the right information”, Shanahan claimed, saying they would announce any new changes.
The troop increases would come in the middle of escalations in the region. The US has already sent an aircraft carrier, destroyer ships, and four B-52 bombers to the region, in addition to station patriot missiles in an unknown country, against potential Iranian threats.
The Iranians, on their part, say they are watching. Tehran claims the United States wouldn’t dare to attack Iran.
“Armed forces monitor the dominant powers' conspiracies and movements,” the Iranian General Staff of the Armed Forces said on Thursday, according to the Islamic Republic’s state-run IRNA news outlet. The military body is the most senior in the country — apart from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The statement by Iran’s armed forces was on the occasion of the liberation of the port city of Khorramshahr on May 24, 1982 during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war, marking a turning point in the war.
Iranian Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Mohammed Baqeri said they are watching US moves, vowing a response if Iran is attacked.
“'The enemies should know that the Iranian military will not lose any single moment monitoring the enemies' conspiracies and adventurism, especially those of the US abominate [sic] administration,” IRNA quoted him as saying.
The model liberation for Khorramshahr is the “only prescription for countering the excessive demands of the world arrogance and hegemony,” Baqeri claimed.
The recently appointed deputy commander of the all-reaching IRGC Rear Adm. Ali Fadavi posited on Thursday that “US dares not fire a bullet at Iran,” claiming that Iran’s military power has increased in Tasnim news, an outlet close to the IRGC.
Despite the belligerent attitudes and potential show of force, both sides have said that they don’t want war.
The current tensions have been ramping up increasingly over the past year. Last May, US President Donald Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, claiming the deal didn’t prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and it didn’t address its regional adventurism.
Since then, the US has re-imposed crippling sanctions that have hurt the Iranian economy, with the currency devaluing sharply. Trump has US sights aimed at Iran’s oil sector, with the goal of driving exports to zero.
Iran for its part has said that it will scale back its commitment to the nuclear deal if European cosigners don’t step up, and it has decided to increase the production of its low-enriched uranium four-fold.