US adding troops to the Middle East to support Iran operations
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: US General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the US is adding forces in the Middle East to bolster its operation in Iran as the conflict continues to widen.
The context: Speaking at a press conference alongside US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Caine said that operations would remain active across the region and that there was a possibility more lives would be lost. Battle damage assessments will take time, he said, because the campaign wasn’t a “single operation.”
Hegseth added that the US’ goal is not nation-building and that “Our ambitions are not utopian. They are realistic, scoped to our interests and the defence of our people and our allies.”
While Hegseth said that there are no US forces currently on the ground in Iran, he did not rule out the possibility that there could be in the future: “President Trump ensures that our enemies understand we’ll go as far as we need to go to advance American interests,” he said.
“But we’re not dumb about it. You don’t have to roll 200,000 people in there and stay for 20 years”, Hegseth added.
The comments come after the US and Israel launched strikes across Iran on Saturday, prompting continued both sides continued attacks across the region in the days since. Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the operation.
The sources: WSJ, Fox News DoW press conference
