Trump Reportedly Orders 5,000 Marines and Sailors To The Strait of Hormuz

U.S. Navy USS Tripoli (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

The Pentagon is sending thousands of U.S. Marines plus the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli to the Middle East following a request from U.S. Central Command, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

According to the report, the deployment could involve “several warships and 5,000 Marines and sailors.”

The request comes as Iran attacks ships and plants mines in the all-important Strait of Hormuz, responsible for the shipment of one-fifth of the world’s oil. The disruption has led to globally skyrocketing gas and oil prices.

At a press conference Friday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth brushed off concerns over Iran’s closure of the Strait, saying, “We have been dealing with it, and don’t need to worry about it.”

Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said in a written statement Thursday that Iran would keep the Strait closed as a  “tool to pressure the enemy.”

Axios reported that CENTCOM “asked for the new force in order to have more options for military operations against Iran,” adding that “The Marine expeditionary unit will be able to conduct ground operations if ordered.”

The U.S. official consulted by Axios “declined to comment on that possibility,” the report said.

The news comes following Hegseth’s assertion that the Trump administration reserves the right to send troops into Iran if it sees fit.

“We would be completely unwise if we did not reserve the right to take any particular option, whether it included boots on the ground or no boots on the ground,” Hegseth told 60 Minutes on Sunday.

Also, on Sunday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that Trump was keeping his “options on the table” regarding U.S. troops in Iran.

Thirteen U.S. service members have died in the conflict, following the crash of a refueling aircraft in Iraq on Friday. U.S. officials said the aircraft was not shot down by enemy or friendly fire.

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