The United States sends more warships and marines to the Middle East. According to the Wall Street Journal, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has approved a request from the US Central Command to send an amphibious group ready for deployment and a Marine expeditionary unit connected to it, made up of several warships and 5,000 marines and sailors.
The USS Tripoli, stationed in Japan, and the Marines assigned to it are now headed to the Middle East, two US officials said. A US defense official confirmed to Fox News that the Pentagon is sending the USS Tripoli, a Marine amphibious group and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit to the Middle East. Approximately 2,500 Marines and 2,500 sailors will be sent to the region. The USS Tripoli is based in Japan and will take approximately one to two weeks to reach other US military units in the region. ABC news also reports that a Marine expeditionary unit, consisting of 2,200 men aboard three Navy amphibious ships, has been sent to the Middle East. The unit, the 31st Expeditionary Unit, is permanently deployed in Japan and operates in the Indo-Pacific region, but has received orders to relocate to the Middle East, the broadcaster adds. The unit also includes a squadron of F-35 fighters and a squadron of MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft.
The deployment of new forces does not necessarily mean that the unit will be used as a ground force in Iran, according to American media, but it offers land, amphibious and air assets that can be made available to military commands if needed. It is not clear what the US objective is.
Some analysts believe that the move serves to seize Kharg Island, located just 25 km from the Iranian coast, considered one of the key infrastructures for Iranian oil exports, through which more than 90% of Iran’s crude exports pass.
Donald Trump refused to answer a question about a possible US occupation of the island. Another possibility is that the US force is destined to secure enriched uranium in a much more complex operation which however would not require amphibious ships. The final, and most likely, alternative is that the deployment is simply intended to intimidate Iran.