US speeds up deployment of thousands more Marines, sailors to Middle East

The Pentagon is speeding up the deployment of thousands of additional Marines and sailors to the Middle East amid speculation that the Trump administration could send troops into Iranian territory.

The 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), made up of at least 2,200 Marines, set off from San Diego aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer on Wednesday, sooner than expected, according to multiple reports.

Reuters reported that the troops ​departed the U.S. about three weeks ahead of schedule.

A Pentagon official told The Hill that due to operations security, it does not discuss “future or hypothetical movements.”

U.S. Central Command, which manages forces in the Middle East, also declined to comment as it “will not speculate on future force posture, or discuss movements that are not in our [area of operation]. 

The additional Marines would head to the Gulf region less than a week after another unit of 2,200 Marines and sailors left for the area aboard the Japan-based USS Tripoli.

Satellite images showed the Tripoli along with two escort ships were traveling southwest across the South China Sea on March 15. The ship carries personnel from the 31st MEU, which contains ground and aerial combat units.

The movements come as President Trump has denied the United States is sending more troops to the Middle East.

“No, I’m not putting troops anywhere,” Trump said Thursday at the White House when asked whether he intends to send more service members to the region.

“If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you,” he continued, before adding that the U.S. “will do whatever’s necessary to keep the price” of oil down. 

Should the Boxer and Tripoli reach the Gulf region, they will join the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group which has been part of the U.S. bombing campaign on Iran. The USS Gerald R. Ford was also in the area but is being sent to Crete for repairs after a fire aboard it last week.

The deployments would mark an escalation in the conflict, during which at least 13 U.S. service members have been killed and approximately 200 wounded.

Administration officials are reportedly weighing a mission to secure a safe passage for oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz by using the military’s air and naval forces. The critical global shipping lane has effectively been closed by Iran since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war, which began on Feb. 28.

The administration also has discussed sending ground forces to Iran’s Kharg Island, which houses an oil depot that handles 90 percent of Tehran’s oil exports. 

The administration has struggled to give a clear picture for how long the war is expected to last after initially insisting it would last four to five weeks. Sparkling concerns of a longer war, Trump on Thursday confirmed the White House is set to ask Congress for $200 billion in supplemental funding for its military campaign.

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