Trump Sends Thousands of Troops to Middle East Despite ‘Very Strong Talks’ To End Iran War

U.S. Central Command announced Saturday that 3,500 sailors and Marines have arrived in the Middle East, even as President Donald Trump claimed this week that “very strong talks” were underway to end the war in Iran.

Another sign of escalating tensions happened Saturday as the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen entered the conflict by launching an “unsuccessful” missile attack on Israel.

According to The New York Times, “There has long been concern that if the Houthis were to enter the war, the group could seek to disrupt global shipping through theRed Sea, which it has done previously by firing on passing ships.”

“Meanwhile…at least 10 U.S.. Service members have been reported injured after an Iranian attack on a U.S. Base in Saudi Arabia,” reported CNN’s Omar Jimenez.

Trump told a Saudi-based investment conference in Miami on Friday, “We have another 3,554 targets left, and that will be done pretty quickly,” adding, “I’m not saying — It’s sort of finished, but it’s not finished. It’s got to be finished.”

CNN’s Julia Benbrook reported on Saturday evening from Florida, “Trump also said that the Iranians are begging to make a deal right now. Some of the other featured speakers at that conference included Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as well as Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who of course played a crucial role here. They led multiple rounds of talks prior to those first strikes, and Witkoff did say that he’s hopeful that there will be some conversations this week.”

Benbrook noted that Trump jokingly referred to the crucial Strait of Hormuz as the “Strait of Trump,” where 20% of the world’s oil passes through.

“That has been at a near complete halt,” Benbrook said. “But he has demanded that that waterway fully reopen, or that the United States would obliterate Iran’s power plants. He had set a date. He then pushed that for another 10 days. It sets at April 6th right now.”

Watch the clip above via CNN.

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