U.S. increases troop presence in Middle East as Iran tensions build

By Peter Martin, Bloomberg News,

The U.S. is sending more troops to the Middle East as tensions with Iran continue to build after several encounters between American and Iranian vessels.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered the deployment of an Amphibious Readiness Group/Marine Expeditionary Unit into U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility, according to a CENTCOM announcement. The deployment will bring additional aviation and maritime assets, as well as U.S. Marines to the region.

The Pentagon didn’t immediately say how many troops would be deployed, but the Navy says such a group typically has assault and landing ships, aircraft and about 5,000 people. The move comes just days after the U.S. announced that it would send a destroyer and fighter aircraft including F-35s to the Persian Gulf in response to Iranian seizures and harassment in and around the Strait of Hormuz.

The decision to send more military muscle follows tense encounters in the region. In one incident this month, a U.S. destroyer chased away two ships from the Iranian Navy in the Gulf of Oman that were trying to seize two oil tankers, the Associated Press reported.

In the past two years, Iran has attacked, seized, or attempted seizure of nearly 20 internationally flagged merchant vessels in the CENTCOM area of operations, according to the announcement.

“U.S. Central Command is committed to defending freedom of navigation within our area of responsibility which includes some of the most important waterways in the world,” Gen. Erik Kurilla, Commander U.S. Central Command, said in a statement, adding that the additional forces would help “deter Iranian destabilizing activities in the region.”

Relations between the U.S. and Iran have been tense since the effective collapse in 2018 of an agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear program. After a ship seizure in March, the two countries held indirect talks on prisoner swaps and the release of Iranian funds frozen abroad because of sanctions.