US Mulling Additional Troop Deployments to Persian Gulf to 'Deter Threats' - Pentagon

Last month, commander of Iran's Army Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi called on regional states to oppose the presence of foreign military forces in the Persian Gulf, arguing that they won't do any good for them.

The US Defense Department is considering additional troop deployments to the Mideast amid concerns of growing threats to shipping and other facilities in the Persian Gulf Region, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy John Rood told Congress on Wednesday.

"Based on what we’re seeing with our concerns about the threat picture it is possible that we would need to adjust our force posture and I think that would be a prudent step based on what we observe because our objective is to deter Iranian aggression," Rood told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

He described a Wall Street Journal report that the US plans to deploy an additional 14,000 forces in the region as inaccurate because no decision has been made.

Earlier this year, the US announced the creation of a maritime coalition under the pretext of securing shipping routes in the Persian Gulf following attacks on a total of six tankers near the Strait of Hormuz in May and June 2019.