"This is a prudent response to credible threats from Iran," acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said Friday. "We want to have protection in the Middle East," Trump told reporters as he prepared to set off on a trip to Japan. "We're going to be sending a relatively small number of troops, mostly protective," Trump added. Six hundred of the personnel belong to a Patriot missile defense battalion that had its deployment in the region extended. The moves "are all part of a dangerous and escalatory strategy by Iran to threaten global trade and to destabilize the region."

Source: Bangkok Post May 25, 2019 09:56 UTC