By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON, March 20 (Reuters) - The United States military is deploying thousands of additional Marines and sailors to the Middle East, three U.S. officials told Reuters on Friday, as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran reached the three-week mark.
No decision had been made to send troops into Iran itself, the officials told Reuters, but they will build up the capacity for future operations in the region.
The deployments of the USS Boxer, along with its Marine Expeditionary
Unit and accompanying warship, come as Reuters reported that President Donald Trump's administration was considering deploying thousands of U.S. troops to reinforce its operation in the Middle East.
Trump told reporters on Thursday that he was not putting troops "anywhere," but that if he were to do so, he would not tell journalists.
The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, did not say what the role of the additional troops would be.
One of the officials said the troops were departing the West Coast of the United States about three weeks ahead of schedule.
The White House and Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The additional deployments will add to the 50,000 U.S. troops already in the Middle East and would bring two Marine Expeditionary Units to the region.
The units, usually comprised of 2,500 Marines, can be used for a number of reasons, including carrying out strikes using the aircraft on board the ships, or being deployed on land.
Sources had previously said the U.S. military was preparing for possible next steps in its campaign against Iran, which began on February 28.
Those options, Reuters has reported, include securing the Strait of Hormuz, potentially by deploying U.S. forces to Iran's shoreline.
The Trump administration has also discussed options to send ground forces to Iran's Kharg Island, the hub for 90% of Iran's oil exports, Reuters has reported.
Any use of U.S. ground troops - even for a limited mission - could pose significant political risks for Trump, given low support among the American public for the Iran campaign and Trump's own pre-election promises to avoid entangling the U.S. in new Middle East conflicts.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Thursday found that some 65% of Americans believe Trump will order troops into a large-scale ground war in Iran and just 7% support that idea.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Daniel Wallis)
