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US Sending Troops to Mideast Amid Gulf Tensions Over Iran

Associated Press

   WASHINGTON - The U.S. is sending 1,000 more troops to the Middle East
   as tensions in the Persian Gulf mounted Tuesday over Iran's
   announcement it will not comply with the international agreement that
   keeps it from making nuclear weapons. At the same time, Iran insisted
   it was not seeking war.

   Iran's announcement Monday that it could soon start enriching uranium
   to just a step away from weapons-grade levels challenged President
   Donald Trump's assurances to allies that the U.S. withdrawal from the
   deal last year made the world a safer place.

   The Pentagon responded by ordering 1,000 more troops to the Middle
   East, including security forces for additional surveillance and
   intelligence-gathering. The escalation of American military might was
   aimed at deterring Iran and calming allies worried about the safety of
   strategic shipping lanes.

   Iran's president, Hassan Rouhani, insisted Tuesday that while "we do
   not wage war with any nation," Iranians will withstand mounting U.S.
   pressure and emerge victorious.

   After Trump withdrew from the deal signed by President Barack Obama, he
   reinstated stiff economic sanctions, leaving the European and other
   partners in the accord struggling to keep Iran on board.

   Iran's announcement that it would not abide by a limit on uranium
   stockpiles established under the 2015 agreement puts the U.S. in the
   awkward position of demanding that Iran comply with a deal that Trump
   derides as the worst in history.

   "We continue to call on the Iranian regime not to obtain a nuclear
   weapon, to abide by their commitments to the international community,"
   State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said Monday.

   The U.S. accuses Iran of attacking two tankers near the Persian Gulf;
   the Iranians deny responsibility. With details murky and no one owning
   up to the attacks, the Pentagon released new photos intended to bolster
   its case.

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