The U.S. is bolstering its military presence in the Middle East after an American strike killed a key Iranian commander in Iraq, with plans to send about 2,800 troops from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division to Kuwait.

The new U.S. contingent will join roughly 700 troops dispatched to Kuwait earlier this week as part of the division’s rapid-reaction “ready battalion,” according to two U.S. officials who asked not to be identified discussing the deployment. The U.S. already had about 60,000 personnel in the region.

The move comes after Donald Trump ordered a U.S. airstrike that killed one of Iran’s most powerful generals and sent global markets reeling as the president said the military leader was plotting attacks on Americans.

In a brief address from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Trump said Qassem Soleimani was plotting “imminent and sinister attacks” against American diplomats and military personnel.

“We took action last night to stop a war,” Trump said. “We did not take action to start a war.”

Iran’s Supreme Leader quickly threatened “severe retaliation” in response to the strike. The U.S. State Department has issued a directive urging American citizens to leave Iraq immediately due to the tensions.

After the operation, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo called counterparts and officials in France, the U.K., China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Pakistan, reiterating his message of de-escalation, according to the State Department.

Oil futures in London and New York at one point surged by more than 4%, gold hit the highest in four months and 10-year Treasury yields headed for the biggest drop in three weeks. The S&P 500 Index fell less than 1%, paring losses that were poised to be the biggest since October as some stock investors took the opportunity to hunt for bargains.

“General Qassem Soleimani has killed or badly wounded thousands of Americans over an extended period of time, and was plotting to kill many more...but got caught!” Trump said earlier Friday on Twitter. “He should have been taken out many years ago!” he added.

Soleimani, who led proxy militias that extended Iran’s power across the Middle East, was killed in a strike in Baghdad authorized by Trump, the Defense Department said in a statement late Thursday. Trump, who is staying at Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, said on Twitter Friday that “Iran never won a war, but never lost a negotiation!” and the U.S. embassy in Baghdad urged its citizens to leave the country.

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