In case of attack by Iran, the United States would send a force of 120,000 men to the Middle East – 14/05/2019

By Eric Schmitt and Julian E. Barnes

At a meeting with key national security aides of President Donald Trump last Thursday, Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan introduced an updated military plan that you plan to send 120,000 soldiers in the Middle East Yes Iran Attack US forces or accelerate work on nuclear weapons, government officials said.

The revisions were ordered by hard-liners led by John R. Bolton, Trump's national security advisor. (The plan) does not provide for a ground invasion of Iranwhich would require a lot more troops, officials said.

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The news reflects the influence of Bolton (one of the most ferocious hawks of the Trump administration regarding Iran), including the attempted confrontation with Tehran was ignored more than ten years ago by President George W. Bush.

It is very uncertain that Trump, who tried to separate the United States from Afghanistan and Syria, is finally sending so many forces back to the Middle East.

It is also unclear whether the President information received on the number of troops or other details in the plans. On Monday, when asked if he was looking for a regime change in Iran, Trump said, "We will see what happens with Iran. It would be a very bad mistake "

The administration is deeply divided over how to respond to Iran at a time when tension is mounting over Iran's nuclear policy and its intentions in the Middle East.

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Some senior US officials have said plans, even at a very preliminary stage, show how dangerous the threat of Iran has become. Others, who are calling for a diplomatic resolution of current tensions, say that this equates to a tactic of fear warn Iran against new aggression.

European allies who met with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday expressed concern that tensions between Washington and Tehran they can overflow, perhaps inadvertently.

More than half a dozen US national security officials UU who received information on the updated plans agreed to discuss it with The New York Times under condition of anonymity. Shanahan spokespersons and General Joseph F. Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declined to comment.

(Trump refused Tuesday to plan the deployment of 120,000 troops to contain Iran and said it was a false news – false news – of The New York Times.

The size of the force involved surprised some officials who were informed. The 120,000 troops would approach the size of the force used by the United States to invade Iraq in 2003.

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The deployment of such a robust air, land and naval force would give Tehran more targets to attack and, perhaps, more reasons to do so, putting the United States at risk of prolonged conflict. This would also cancel the years of cuts by the US military in the Middle East, which began with the withdrawal of troops from Iraq by President Barack Obama in 2011.

But two national security officials said Trump had announced in December a reduction in US forces in Syria and a reduction in naval presence in the region. seems to have encouraged some leaders in Tehran and convinced the Guards Corps of the Islamic Revolution that the United States does not want to fight with Iran.

Several tankers were attacked or sabotaged off the United Arab Emirates over the weekend, raising fears that shipping routes into the Persian Gulf would become flash points. "If anything happened, Iran would have serious problems," Trump said Monday, about this episode.

UAE officials are investigating the apparent sabotage and US officials suspect Iran of being involved. However, several officials have warned that even there is no definitive proof which connect Iran or its representatives to attacks. A spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry described the incident as "an unfortunate incident," according to an official news agency.

In Brussels, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with the Foreign Ministers of Britain, France and Germany, co-signatories of the Iranian Nuclear Agreement of 2015, as well as the Head of Foreign Policy of the European Union, Federica Mogherini. . He did not talk to the media, but European officials said that they had asked for moderation in Washington, for fear of an accidental escalation that could lead to a conflict with Iran.

"We are very concerned about the risk of conflict by accident, with escalation that is not really intentional for both parties," said Jeremy Hunt, UK Foreign Secretary.

The Iranian government has not threatened violence recently, but last week President Hbadan Rouhani declared that Iran would move away from the 2015 nuclear deal with the two countries. world powers. Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement a year ago, but European countries urged Iran to maintain this deal and to ignore Trump's provocations.