Despite President Donald Trump’s public statements denying plans to deploy U.S. troops to Iran, a new report suggests otherwise. According to CBS News, the Pentagon has developed detailed strategies for a potential military deployment in the region.

The report indicates that President Trump is considering this option as military tensions with Iran have persisted for nearly three weeks. Anonymous sources familiar with the situation have confirmed these deliberations to the network.

Meanwhile, President Trump has downplayed the impact of Iranian actions on international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime route. Speaking from the South Lawn on Friday before heading to Mar-a-Lago, he stated, “We don’t use the Strait. The United States, we don’t need it. Europe needs it. Korea, Japan, China, a lot of other people.”

He went on to suggest that other nations reliant on the Strait should take a more active role, saying, “So, they’ll have to get involved a little bit on that one.”

‘We don’t use the Strait,’ he said on the South Lawn Friday afternoon, before departing for Mar-a-Lago. ‘The United States, we don’t need it. Europe needs it. Korea, Japan, China, a lot of other people.’

‘So, they’ll have to get involved a little bit on that one,’ the President added. 

He made similar statements in a Truth Social post put out during his flight to Florida, where he also boasted: ‘We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East with respect to the Terrorist Regime of Iran.’ 

Trump has raged against NATO, in particular, for not offering up resources to help ships get through the Strait of Hormuz. 

Earlier Friday in a Truth Social post, he called members of the historic military alliance that’s a check against Russia ‘COWARDS.’ 

President Donald Trump (right) speaks with reporters outside the White House Friday alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio (left). During the Q&A he said that the US doesn’t ‘use’ the Strait of Hormuz 

A US Army team carries the casket of a deceased servicemember during a dignified transfer attended by President Donald Trump earlier this month. A new CBS News report says that the Pentagon is drafting options for Trump to put boots on the ground

‘Without the U.S.A., NATO IS A PAPER TIGER!’ he said. ‘They didn’t want to join the fight to stop a Nuclear Powered Iran.’ 

‘Now that fight is Militarily WON, with very little danger for them, they complain about the high oil prices they are forced to pay, but don’t want to help open the Strait of Hormuz, a simple military maneuver that is the single reason for the high oil prices,’ he continued. ‘So easy for them to do, with so little risk.’ 

He told reporters on the South Lawn that Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican ally on Capitol Hill, was ‘right’ to ask him to reconsider having US bases in Spain and Germany after the Strait of Hormuz controversy. 

‘I think NATO’s gone down a long way,’ he said. ‘And don’t forget, he was a big NATO guy for awhile, and now he’s not,’ Trump said of Graham, one of the top Iran war hawks.

Trump’s harsh comments came after seven of the US’s allies – including six who are NATO members – offered to help in a joint statement released Thursday. 

‘We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait. We welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning,’ the joint statement read. 

It was signed by United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan and Canada.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, visited Trump at the White House Thursday.

President Donald Trump rallies American servicemembers during his trip last May to Al Udeid Air Base, located outside Doha in Qatar, which has been targeted by Iranian strikes since the war began 

During their Oval Office sit-down, Trump was asked directly if he planned to deploy US troops to Iran. 

‘No, I’m not putting troops anywhere,’ he responded.

‘If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you,’ he told the reporter. 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to CBS that just because plans are being drawn up doesn’t mean that Trump has to utilize them.

‘It’s the job of the Pentagon to make preparations in order to give the Commander in Chief maximum optionality, it does not mean the President has made a decision, and as the President said in the Oval Office yesterday, he is not planning to send ground troops anywhere at this time.’