Trump says 1,500 more troops to deploy to Middle East

President Donald Trump announced Friday that some 1,500 additional US troops would deploy to the Middle East against a backdrop of soaring tensions with Iran.

"We want to have protection in the Middle East," Trump told reporters as he prepared to set off on a trip to Japan.

"We're going to be sending a relatively small number of troops, mostly protective," Trump added.  "It'll be about 1,500 people."