Donald Trump ‘considering sending 10,000 more troops to Middle East’
Donald Trump is considering deploying up to 10,000 more troops to the Middle East as peace negotiations continue with Iran.
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The US is reportedly considering a massive troop deployment that would include ‘infantry and armoured vehicles,’ according to the Wall Street Journal.
It is being presented as another option for Trump as he seeks peace talks with Iran.
The troops would likely sent to a US military base within striking distance of Iran’s Kharg island.
Around 5,000 US Marines and several thousand paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division are already making their way to the Middle East.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said that no decision had been made yet.
She said: “All announcements regarding troop deployments will come from the Department of War.
“As we have said, President Trump always has all military options at his disposal.”
Trump has extended his pause on striking Iranian energy plants by ten days to April 6 and has again claimed peace talks are going "very well."
The President claimed that the extension request came from Tehran, and again said peace talks between the nations were on track.
He initially postponed the US military from unleashing strikes on Iran's power plants and energy infrastructure on Monday, citing "very good and productive conversations".
But the mini-ceasefire has now been extended to April 6.
Posting on his TruthSocial account, the President said: "As per Iranian Government request, please let this statement serve to represent that I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Eastern Time.
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"Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP."
The President's initial threat to strike Iranian energy infrastructure came last Saturday and was issued if Tehran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The shipping channel, one of the world's busiest, has been partially blocked by Tehran since the US and Israel attacked the country on 28 February.
The closure has rocketed the price of oil and gas, and prompted UK inflation to flatline at three per cent last month.
It comes after the US postponed its military from unleashing strikes on Iran's power plants and energy infrastructure on Monday.
Trump initially said the pause would last for five days but did add that it depended on "the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions".
Speaking to Fox News on Thursday after the TruthSocial post, he said: "They said to me, very nicely, through my people 'could we have more time?'
"They asked for seven [days]. And I said, 'I'm going to give you ten', because they gave me ships.
"You know, we talked about the eight ships. You know, the present that I talked about the other day."
He was reffering to comments made on Thursday in which he said the US had received a "very big present" from Iran which was "worth a tremendous amount of money".
He said: "It wasn't nuclear, it was oil-and gas-related, and it was a very nice thing they did".
The White House has ramped up talks of a potential peace deal with Iran in recent days, but a 15-point plan submitted by Trump was rejected earlier this week.
But amid the mixed messaging, Trump earlier branded Iran a "lunatic nation" that is "begging for a deal".
Writing on TruthSocial earlier on Thursday, the President described Iranian negotiators as "difficult" and "very strange".
But his claims come as Iran continue to deny any peace talks taking place.
Trump wrote: "They are 'begging' us to make a deal, which they should be doing since they have been militarily obliterated, with zero chance of a comeback, and yet they publicly state that they are only 'looking at our proposal.
Speaking on Wednesday evening, Trump attempted to justify the conflict by insisting the US needed to eradicate Iran's "cancer", in relation to its nuclear programme development.
He said: "I thought that the energy prices, the oil prices would go up higher. I thought the stock market would go somewhat lower.
"But it didn’t matter to me, short term. What we had to do is get rid of the cancer. We had to cut out the cancer, and the cancer was Iran with a nuclear weapon".
But playing down suggestions of a proposed peace deal, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, said on state TV that his Government had not engaged in talks to end the war.
He told state TV: "At present, our policy is the continuation of resistance. We do not intend to negotiate – so far, no negotiations have taken place, and I believe our position is completely principled".
Iran stepped up its offence this week after launching its own attacks on US military bases in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan in a new series of strikes.
Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted multiple drones.
The Pentagon is deploying two Marine units that will add about 5,000 Marines and thousands of sailors to the region, in a move hoped to give Trump "max flexibility" on what he will do next, a source added.