The US Pentagon will order 3,000 more troops to be deployed to the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal and Reuters have reported.

A written order to send the soldiers, reportedly from the US army’s 82nd airborne unit, is expected to be released in the coming hours, two US officials told the WSJ.

The Reuters news agency is reporting the same thing, also citing two sources.

It’s not yet known where the troops are heading, the Reuters report adds, citing the sources.

Airborne units are soldiers used in ground combat that are carried by aircraft and dropped into battle zones, typically by parachute.

The White House was approached for comment by the news agency but did not immediately respond.

It comes after reports on 13 March that 5,000 US marines and sailors, along with an amphibious assault ship, were being sent to the region.

Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted he does not want US boots on the ground in Iran during the conflict.

The US president said on Friday the US was considering “winding down” its military operations in the Middle East. 

Just yesterday, he claimed “productive” talks had been held with Tehran over the conflict, leading him to pause threatened strikes on Iranian power plants for five days.

But experts continue to wonder whether the US might act with some ground troops, perhaps to help secure the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway, or to seize control of Iranian oil supplies via the Kharg Island export hub.

The US bombed the island earlier in the war but Trump made a point of saying it left energy facilities untouched.

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