US SecDef: No increase in US troops in response to Iran ‘at this time’

US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said today he was not considering hiking the number of US forces in the Middle East to address Iran’s “misbehaviour” at this time, but warned that the world would not ignore Iranian activities.

President Donald Trump has vowed a more aggressive policy against Tehran and his administration is warning of concrete action if Iran does not curb its ballistic missile program and continues support in regional proxy conflicts. Iran makes wide-scale use of Shia jihadists loyal to the regime’s ideology.

The United States announced new sanctions yesterday, just two days after the Trump administration put Iran “on notice” following a ballistic missile test and hours after Trump blasted.

Read: Iran defies US sanctions, tests more missiles

Mattis said putting Iran on notice was worthwhile, given its behaviour.

“As far as Iran goes, this is the single biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the world and I think it is wise to make certain that Iran recognises that what it is doing is getting the attention of a lot of people,” Mattis told a news conference in Tokyo in his most detailed remarks on Iran since taking over the Pentagon.

Still, he firmly played down the idea of any military build-up at the present moment, while reassuring US allies that Washington could easily increase troop numbers if it wanted to.

“I don’t see any need to increase the number of forces we have in the Middle East at this time. That’s not in the cards right now,” he said. “We always have the capability to do so. But right now I don’t think it’s necessary.”

The United States has already sent a Navy destroyer to patrol off the coast of Yemen to protect waterways from Shia Houthi rebels aligned with Iran.

But there are other actions Washington could take, including giving greater priority to rotating aircraft carriers through the Gulf. There is currently no US aircraft carrier in the Gulf, for example.

The US Navy believes having a robust presence helps deter any moves by Iran to block that strategic waterway.

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In 2008 and 2010, in moves that prompted critics to accuse Iran of destabilising the region, the Islamic Republic threatened to disrupt oil shipping in the Gulf by shutting the Strait of Hormuz if there were any attack on its nuclear sites.

Mattis said ignoring Iranian behaviour – something former President Barack Obama’s critics routinely accused him of doing – wouldn’t work.

“It does no good to ignore it, it does no good to dismiss it,” Mattis said, without citing Obama or his policies, though it was clear who he was referring to.

The White House has said that while the latest sanctions were a reaction to recent events, they had been under consideration before. It added that a landmark 2015 deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program was not in the best interest of the United States.

Iran denounced the sanctions as illegal and said it would impose legal restrictions on American individuals and entities helping “regional terrorist groups”, state TV quoted a Foreign Ministry statement as saying.

Those affected under the sanctions cannot access the US financial system or deal with US companies and are subject to secondary sanctions, meaning foreign companies and individuals are prohibited from dealing with them or risk being blacklisted by the United States.