WASHINGTON — The United States is dispatching additional Marines and warships to the Middle East as the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran enters its third week, amid escalating attacks in and around the Strait of Hormuz and a renewed surge in global oil prices, according to multiple U.S. media reports.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the Japan-based amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli and attached Marines are en route to the region. The New York Times said as many as three ships carrying roughly 2,500 Marines were headed to the Middle East, while CNN identified the force as a Marine Expeditionary Unit, which typically comprises about 2,500 Marines and sailors. The Journal added that U.S. Central Command requested the deployment, which was approved by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
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President Donald Trump said the United States is willing to escort commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz to deter Iranian attacks, part of a push to tame oil prices driven higher by the conflict. The administration also issued a temporary waiver allowing some purchases of sanctioned Russian oil already at sea, drawing sharp criticism from European allies concerned it could bolster Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine.
Crude prices climbed again today. Brent futures rose 2.68% to $103.14 a barrel, with markets whipsawing in recent days on shifting expectations about the war’s duration and risks to shipping through Hormuz, a conduit for roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil.
Nearly two weeks of fighting have killed about 2,000 people — most of them in Iran, but many also in Lebanon and a growing number across the Gulf — and displaced several million, according to reports from the region. Israeli airstrikes pounded Beirut’s southern suburbs as Lebanon’s interior minister said authorities in the capital could no longer accommodate the hundreds of thousands seeking refuge. Israel has warned of Gaza-scale devastation, deployed additional troops to confront Iran-backed Hezbollah and threatened further strikes on Lebanon’s infrastructure.
The Pentagon confirmed six U.S. service members were killed when a refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq.
Tensions widened across the region as Iran launched more missiles and drones at Israel. Iranian drones were also reported flying into Kuwait, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman. The Israeli military said it struck more than 200 targets in western and central Iran over the past day, including ballistic missile launchers, air-defense systems and weapons production sites.
In Tehran, state-affiliated Press TV said a woman was killed by an airstrike near a Quds Day rally held in support of Palestinians. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and security chief Ali Larijani were seen openly attending rallies in videos verified by Reuters. “We will not back down in any way,” judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei said at one march.
Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz shut and urged neighboring countries to close U.S. bases or risk being attacked, according to remarks read on state television. Hegseth told reporters U.S. intelligence believes Khamenei is “wounded and likely disfigured,” while an Iranian official told Reuters he was lightly injured and continuing to work.
Hegseth said the United States has not seen clear evidence that Iran is laying mines in Hormuz but asserted Iranian attacks on ships are constraining traffic. In Europe, French officials said Paris has been consulting with European, Asian and Gulf Arab partners on a potential plan to organize naval escorts for tankers transiting the strait.
Seeking to cushion consumers, Washington yesterday granted a 30-day license for countries to buy Russian oil and refined products already at sea, where ownership can change hands mid-voyage. Vice President JD Vance said senior officials are working to address the economic fallout, including rising gasoline and diesel prices. The International Energy Agency said the war is creating the biggest oil supply disruption in history. In India, shortages of cooking gas have intensified; Reuters reported Iran allowed two Indian-flagged liquefied petroleum gas carriers to pass through Hormuz.
The U.S. waiver drew praise in Moscow and anger in Kyiv and parts of Europe. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said six Group of Seven members opposed the step, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned it could provide Russia with $10 billion. Trump said he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin may be helping Iran “a little bit.”
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
