US President Donald Trump has dismissed a New York Times report that his administration is planning to send up to 120,000 troops to the Middle East if there is a further escalation of tensions with Iran.
Trump said on Tuesday that he thinks the report is fake news.
He also said, "Hopefully we're not going to have to plan for that. And if we did that, we'd send a hell of a lot more troops than that."
Some media outlets report that initial analysis by the US government indicates Iran or armed forces backed by the country could have been involved in Sunday's sabotage attack against two Saudi Arabian oil tankers.
The Trump administration says it is not seeking war with Iran, but has vowed that any attack on the US or its allies will be met with "unrelenting force."
NHK
