White House Reviews Military Plans Against Iran

Washington: Donald Trumps top national security aides last week, Acting Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan presented an updated military plan to attack Iran and that envisions sending as many as 120,000 troops to the Middle East. American forces or accelerate work on nuclear weapons, administration officials said.

The high-level review of the Pentagon’s plans was presented during a meeting on May 9 about broader Iran policies, The New York Times quoted the officials as saying on Monday.

It was held days after what the Trump administration described, without evidence, as new intelligence indicating that Iran was mobilizing proxy groups in Iraq and Syria to attack American force.

As a precaution, the Pentagon has moved an aircraft carrier, B-52 bombers, a Patriot missile interceptor battery and more naval firepower to the Gulf region.

The revisions were ordered by hard-liners led by John Bolton, Trump’s National Security Adviser. They, however, did not call for a land invasion of Iran, which would require vastly more troops. (IANS)

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