War Secretary Pete Hegseth has approved a request from U.S. Central Command to send a Marine expeditionary unit and more warships to the Middle East as Iran escalates attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for the global oil trade.
CENTCOM asked for an element of an Amphibious Ready Group and an attached Marine Expeditionary Unit, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing three U.S. officials.
An Amphibious Ready Group typically includes an assault ship, two transport docks, and a support vessel carrying an embarked Marine Expeditionary Unit of at least 2,200 Marines.
The deployment of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit does not mean it will be used as a ground force in Iran, but it provides land, amphibious, and aviation assets available to military commanders if needed, ABC News reported.
The 31st MEU also includes a squadron of F-35B Lightning II stealth fighters and a squadron of MV-22 tilt-rotor Osprey aircraft.
The USS Tripoli, which is a Japan-based amphibious assault ship, and its Marines are headed for the Middle East, two of the officials told the Journal. Marines are already in the Mideast supporting Operation Epic Fury, the officials said.
The Tripoli was operating in the Philippine Sea earlier this week with the USS San Diego and USS New Orleans, U.S. Naval Institute News reported Friday. The three ships make up the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group.
It is unclear whether all three are heading to the Middle East or if Tripoli will deploy on its own.
Ship spotters identified the Tripoli sailing alone Thursday south of Taiwan, heading through the Luzon Strait, according to USNI News.
A War Department spokesperson told Newsmax that "due to operations security, we do not discuss future or hypothetical movements."
Oil prices have surged as naval traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed sharply. About 20% of the world's oil supply transits the waterway.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Thursday that the Navy is not ready to begin escorting oil tankers through the strait.
"Ultimately," Hegseth said Friday at a news conference, "we want to do it sequentially in a way that makes the most sense for what we want to achieve and ensure that we're sending the right signals to the world when we do so."
His remarks and those of Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, aired live on Newsmax and the free Newsmax2 streaming platform.
"So, when Chris Wright speaks or we speak, it's based on a full assessment of what we're up against, what we want to say to the world, how we want them to see and understand the conflict," Hegseth said. "The Strait of Hormuz is something we've paid attention to from the beginning, and the American people can rest assured we will ensure that our interests are advanced, no doubt."
Caine said the strait is "a tactically complex environment."
"And before I think we want to take anything through there at scale, we want to make sure that we do the work pursuant to our current military objectives — to do that safely and smartly," he said. "So, we're continuing to develop options."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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