US Deploys More Marines to the Mideast

More Marines are en route to the Mideast. The US is deploying about 2,500 additional troops and three more warships, reports Reuters and the AP. The new troops with the USS Boxer and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit left California earlier this week, per CBS News. This is actually the second large Marine deployment within a week, notes the Wall Street Journal: The USS Tripoli and the 31st MEU, previously deployed to Japan, also are en route from the Pacific as the conflict enters what Military.com describes as a "dangerous new phase."

The news comes a day after President Trump told reporters he was not sending group troops into Iran, though he left "wiggle room," notes the New York Times, by saying he wouldn't reveal such plans to the press and would do whatever he deemed necessary. Reuters previously reported that options include putting troops along Iran's shoreline or attempting to take the vital Iranian island of Kharg. On Friday, the US escalated operations by air to secure the Strait of Hormuz, and Trump criticized NATO allies as "cowards" for not helping.