By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON, March 10 (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. senators expressed alarm on Tuesday about the Iran war, saying they were worried that President Donald Trump could deploy U.S. ground forces and noting the high risks given Russian support for Tehran's military.
"We know that Russia is already helping with intel, providing that to Iran, and that there's an axis with Russia and China, Iran and North Korea that puts at greater risk the United States and our national security," Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire said on CNN.
Speaking after a classified briefing from administration officials to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Shaheen called on the administration to send officials to testify publicly in Congress.
Two sources familiar with U.S. intelligence reports have said that Russia is providing Iran with targeting intelligence on U.S. bases and ships.
Shaheen and other senators said a series of closed-door briefings from Trump aides have left them with more questions than answers, especially about the cost and expected duration of the war, and whether U.S. forces would be sent into Tehran.
"We seem to be on a path toward deploying American troops on the ground in Iran to accomplish any of the potential objectives here," Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut told reporters after Tuesday's classified briefing.
Trump has not ruled out sending U.S. ground troops into Iran. His Republicans, who have slim majorities in both houses of Congress, have almost unanimously backed his strategy on Iran, with only a handful expressing doubt about the war.
Blumenthal also cited the risk of Russian involvement putting American lives at risk. "Literally, Russia seems to be aiding our enemy actively and intensively with intelligence and perhaps with other means and China also may be assisting Iran," Blumenthal said.
"So the American people deserve to know much more than this administration has told them about the cost of the war, the danger to our sons and daughters in uniform and the potential for further escalation and widening of this war," he said.
The lawmakers' comments came as they awaited a request the White House is expected to make for more funding for the war. Several congressional aides have said they expect Trump to ask for $50 billion, although others have said that estimate seemed low.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Additional reporting by Jonathan Landay; Editing by Don Durfee and David Gregorio)
