Acting US Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan has announced the deployment of about 1,000 more troops to the Middle East for what he said were “defensive purposes”, citing concerns about a threat from Iran.
The announcement on Monday came amid fears of a confrontation between the United States and Iran in the wake of suspected attacks last Thursday on two tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for the world’s oil supplies.
Washington and Tehran have traded accusations over the incidents.
“I have authorised approximately 1,000 additional troops for defensive purposes to address air, naval, and ground-based threats in the Middle East,” Shanahan said in a statement. “The recent Iranian attacks validate the reliable, credible intelligence we have received on hostile behaviour by Iranian forces and their proxy groups that threaten United States personnel and interests across the region,” he said.
The new US deployment to the Middle East is in addition to an increase last month that brought US troops in the region up to 1,500 in response to attacks on four other tankers in May. Washington also sent warships and a Patriot missile defence battery to the region, citing unspecified threats from Iran.
Also on Monday, the Pentagon released new photos it claimed showed Iran was behind the suspected tanker attacks, while Tehran set a 10-day deadline for world powers to fulfil their commitments under a multilateral nuclear deal, saying it will otherwise surpass its uranium stockpile limit mandated by the accord. Washington abandoned the deal last year and reinstated punishing economic sanctions on Iran.
“The United States does not seek conflict with Iran,” Shanahan said in his statement, adding the new deployment aimed “to ensure the safety and welfare of our military personnel working throughout the region and to protect our national interests”.
David Desroches, former director of NATO operations at the Pentagon, called the US troop move a “small measure”. He told Al Jazeera: “It’s designed to send a message, but this is nowhere near what you’d need for an invasion or a war.”
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has also released additional imagery of one of the ships damaged in Thursday’s incidents that it claimed supported its accusation Iran had carried out the suspected attacks.
The US accusation centres on an alleged unexploded limpet mine on the Kokuka Courageous tanker that the US said was removed by Iranian soldiers on a patrol boat.
“Iran is responsible for the attack based on video evidence and the resources and proficiency needed to quickly remove the unexploded limpet mine,” the Pentagon said in a statement accompanying the new imagery.
Last week, the US released a grainy black and white video it said showed Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) removing a mine, but has not provided an explanation for why the alleged removal occurred while the US military was in the area.
Source: Al-Jazeera
Tuesday, May 5, 2026
