The United States has sent more than 3,000 troops to the Red Sea on two warships as part of a more robust response to Iran’s alleged seizure of civilian ships, according to the United States Navy. ON MONDAY, the US Fifth Fleet stated that the sailors and marines had reached the Red Sea on Sunday after passing through the Suez Canal as part of a planned deployment.
On Monday, Tehran blamed the United States for escalating tensions in the area as it further expanded its military presence in the Gulf, which is crucial to the international oil trade.
They arrived on amphibious assault ships like the USS Bataan and the dock landing ship USS Carter Hall, which can carry dozens of aircraft like Ospreys and Harrier planes and amphibious landing boats and tactical vehicles.
These troops are part of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) and the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group.
U.S. Central Command said last month that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin authorized the action because Iran attempted to commandeer commercial ships in the Middle East.
The Iranian government has denied claims that it “harassed” ships, arguing that it was only reacting to a distress call on at least one occasion. According to the Navy, Iranian agents allegedly opened fire on one of two commercial oil tankers they were trying to capture in the Gulf of Oman in July.
According to the United States, Iran seized two commercial ships in a week in May.U.S. officials told ABC News on Friday that to prevent Iran from seizing them, some Marines from the 26th MEU were flown ahead for training in Bahrain before being put on commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Over the last two years, the US military claims, Iran has either taken control of or tried to control approximately 20 ships flying the flags of other countries in the area.
The deployment is an attempt “to deter destabilizing activity and de-escalate regional tensions caused by Iran’s harassment and seizures of merchant’s vessels,” according to Commander Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for the Fifth Fleet, as quoted by the AFP news agency.
