The additional deployments will add to the 50,000 US troops already in the Middle East and would bring two Marine Expeditionary Units to the region.
The units, usually comprised of 2,500 Marines, can be used for a number of reasons, including carrying out strikes using the aircraft on board the ships, or being deployed on land.
Sources had previously said the US military was preparing for possible next steps in its campaign against Iran, which began on Feb 28.
Those options, Reuters has reported, include securing the Strait of Hormuz, potentially by deploying US forces to Iran’s shoreline.
The Trump administration has also discussed options to send ground forces to Iran’s Kharg Island, the hub for 90 per cent of Iran’s oil exports, Reuters has reported.
Any use of US ground troops – even for a limited mission – could pose significant political risks for Trump, given low support among the American public for the Iran campaign and Trump’s own pre-election promises to avoid entangling the US in new Middle East conflicts.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Thursday found that some 65 per cent of Americans believe Trump will order troops into a large-scale ground war in Iran and just 7 per cent support that idea.