WASHINGTON, United States, March 27, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The United States is 
weighing sending up to 10,000 extra troops to the Middle East, US media 
reported Friday, as speculation grows that Washington may be preparing a 
ground operation in Iran.

The deployment would mark a significant boost to Washington's military 
presence in the region, despite US President Donald Trump insisting that 
Tehran was taking part in peace talks with Washington to end the war.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the move would aim to provide Trump 
with "more military options" in the Middle East, engulfed by war since US-
Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.

The troops would join thousands of paratroopers and Marines who have already 
been ordered to the region.

An Iranian official said Wednesday that Tehran would retaliate to a ground 
invasion of its territory by Washington by activating its Houthi rebels in 
Yemen to attack shipping in the Red Sea.

That would open up a new front in a war of spiralling economic, political and 
military repercussions.

Trump has repeatedly said he does not plan to send ground troops into combat 
with Iran.

"It is unclear where precisely forces will go in the Middle East, but they 
will likely be within striking distance of Iran and Kharg Island, a crucial 
oil export hub off Iran's coast," the Journal said.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment.

Trump has pushed back his deadline for strikes on Iran's energy assets, 
assuring that talks on ending the war were "going very well."

Israel's military, meanwhile, said early Friday that it carried out "a wide-
scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime 
in the heart of Tehran".