Washington, March 14 (IANS) The Pentagon is sending additional Marines and warships to the Middle East as tensions rise in the Strait of Hormuz following Iranian attacks on maritime traffic and regional targets, according to media reports citing unnamed US officials.
Fox News reported that the Pentagon is deploying the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli, along with a Marine Amphibious Ready Group and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, to the region.
Around 2,500 Marines and 2,500 sailors are expected to be part of the deployment, according to Fox News, which cited a US defence official.
The USS Tripoli is currently stationed in Japan and could take about one to two weeks to reach the Middle East and link up with other American military assets already deployed in the region, the report said.
The move comes as Iran has been threatening maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and launching attacks on neighboring Gulf states, raising concerns about the security of global shipping lanes.
The New York Times reported that about 2,500 Marines aboard as many as three warships are heading to the Middle East from the Indo-Pacific region as Iran increases attacks around the Strait of Hormuz. The deployment will reinforce US forces already stationed in the region.
According to the report, the Marines will join more than 50,000 American troops currently deployed across the Middle East.
Officials have not publicly detailed how the additional forces will be used once they arrive in the region.
Responding to questions about the deployments, a Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment on operational specifics.
“Due to operational security, we do not discuss future or hypothetical movements,” a Pentagon spokesperson told IANS.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most strategically important maritime routes. It connects the Persian Gulf with the Arabian Sea and is a critical corridor for global energy shipments.
Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes through the narrow waterway aboard large tanker vessels, according to widely cited industry estimates. Any disruption to shipping in the strait can have immediate effects on global oil prices and energy markets.
US officials have also indicated that American naval forces could escort merchant vessels through the strait if attacks on commercial shipping intensify, a measure the US Navy previously used during tensions with Iran in the late 1980s.
–IANS
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