Pentagon plans to act on military request of sending more 5,000 troops to Middle East

The U.S. Department of Defense is considering a U.S. military request to send about 5,000 additional troops to the Middle East amid increasing tensions with Iran, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the request had been made by U.S. Central Command but added that it was not clear whether the Pentagon would approve the request. The Pentagon regularly receives, and declines, requests from combatant commands throughout the world for additional resources.

One of the officials said the requested troops would be defensive in nature.