The deployment, requested by CENTCOM, aims to provide rapid crisis response, protect embassies, evacuate civilians, and secure key entry points amid the ongoing conflict.
The United States is deploying roughly 5,000 additional Marines and sailors to the Middle East as the war involving Iran intensifies, NBC News cited three US officials as saying.
The deployment includes an Amphibious Ready Group and Marine Expeditionary Unit (ARG/MEU), comprising around 2,500 Marines and 2,500 sailors, officials said as per the news outlet.
Crisis response unit activated
The Marines assigned to the deployment are part of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, based in Japan. The unit is the United States Marine Corps’ only permanently forward-deployed MEU.
Marine Expeditionary Units are designed for rapid crisis response missions, including evacuating civilians from conflict zones, protecting embassies and establishing entry points for other military forces.
Amphibious ships moving West
The sailors are attached to the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group, which includes three ships:
-USS Tripoli (LHA-7)
-USS San Diego (LPD-22)
-USS New Orleans (LPD-18)
CENTCOM requested additional forces
Officials said the deployment was requested by United States Central Command as part of contingency planning for the conflict.
“Part of the plan for this war was to have Marines available to provide options for use,” one US official said.
The move adds to the growing US military presence in the region as Washington prepares for a range of possible contingencies tied to the ongoing conflict.
Iran shows resolve despite leadership loss
The Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to demonstrate that it remains intact and in control, despite the death of its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, at the start of the US-Israeli military campaign on February 28.
Mojtaba Khamenei, the late leader’s son, has been named the new supreme leader. However, he has remained absent from public view and is r