US to deploy thousands more troops to the Middle East

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The Pentagon will deploy thousands more troops to the Middle East on three warships as the US continues to build up its forces for the war against Iran.

The Boxer Amphibious Ready Group, carrying about 4,500 Marines and sailors, will head to the region, according to a US official. The troops include the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which consists of about 2,200 Marines.

The deployment of more troops to the region points to the potential for further escalation of the war against Iran and a new phase of combat, including possible boots on the ground, despite administration officials vowing that the conflict would not be protracted.

The USS Boxer, which is carrying the 11th MEU, is an amphibious assault ship built to transport Marines from sea to land. It will sail from California to the Middle East alongside two other ships via the Indo-Pacific region, a journey that will take three to four weeks. It is the second MEU ordered to the Middle East in the past week.

The amphibious-ready group is also bringing more fighter jets, with an F-35 squadron on board, and a squadron of Osprey helicopters. It also has its own logistics and equipment, including amphibious combat vehicles and smaller landing craft.

A MEU can be used in a range of missions: it is trained for ground and air combat and can support special operations.

“The main thing a MEU exists for is to be the US’s 911 force — ready to go at a moment’s notice,” said a former defence official.

MEU members are trained to launch fast raids on land and could be crucial to any operations to seize Kharg Island, the vital Iranian oil export hub, or small islands in the Strait of Hormuz to secure the strategic waterway.

The Pentagon said it was escalating attacks aimed at reopening the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows, with attack jets striking Iranian fast boats and attack helicopters shooting down drones.

“The A-10 Warthog is now in the fight across the southern flank and is hunting and killing fast-attack watercraft in the Strait of Hormuz,” General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Thursday.

“AH-64 Apaches have joined the fight on the southern flank, and they continue to work on the southern side”, with US allies also using Apaches to “handle one-way attack drones”.

Caine added that the US was attacking deeper into Iranian territory every day.

The 11th MEU’s deployment comes a day after President Donald Trump claimed he would not send more American troops to the Middle East.

“No, I’m not putting troops anywhere,” he told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday.

But he added, “if I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you” and said the US “would do whatever is necessary” to keep the price of oil down.

White House officials as recently as Wednesday said all options were on the table in the conflict, including sending more troops to the Middle East — and potentially deploying ground troops in Iran.

The US already has about 50,000 troops in the region. With the additional Marines and sailors the figure will be closer to 60,000. The 31st MEU, with another 2,200 Marines, is en route to the Middle East from Japan and is expected to arrive in about a week.