The United States Department of Defense is making “detailed” preparations for a possible deployment of American ground troops into Iran, CBS News reported on Friday, citing multiple sources familiar with the discussions. According to the report, senior military officials offered specific requests for the preparation of ground troops, with those plans involving the US Army’s Global Response Force and the Marine Corps’ Marine Expeditionary Unit. The report also echoed previous reports of about 2,200 Marines from the expeditionary unit being moved to the Midle East, along with three warships. “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,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.