Two warships carrying 3,000 American soldiers arrived in the Hormuz Strait of the Red Sea on Aug. 6, amid escalating tensions between the United States and Iran.
According to officials in Washington, the arrival of the troops comes after the United States blocked Iran from seizing two commercial tankers off the coast of Oman on July 5.
The Navy said the move would “bring to the region additional aviation and naval assets, as well as more U.S. Marines and Sailors, providing greater flexibility and maritime capability to U.S. 5th Fleet,” which oversees U.S. naval operations in the area of the Middle East.
The Strait of Hormuz is a highly strategically important strip of sea, as roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil supply flows through the region. Amid already high energy prices, the United States is anxious to prevent any further increase in prices that could result from a military breakdown in the strait.
The 3,000 troops, Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs), are trained for amphibious operations. The ships sent to the region are capable of carrying aircraft, including the previously announced decision to send F-16 and F-35 jets to the region, and naval craft that could assist in an amphibious assault, suggesting concerns among higher-ups over a potential escalation.
However, U.S. officials say that the goal is to thwart escalation rather than incite it.
“And so ... we’ve deployed these additional assets to give us additional options, to speed up timelines, and again, broadly, to ensure stability.”
The move to send additional resources to the region came after a standoff between the United States and Iran on July 5 over Iranian efforts to seize two commercial vessels in the region.
According to Iranian state news sources, a Bahamian-flagged vessel, the Richmond Voyager, collided with an Iranian ship, reportedly injuring five members of the crew.
The U.S. Navy responded to a distress signal from the ship, which said that it had been fired upon by Iranian authorities and asked to stop. Upon the arrival of the USS McFaul, Iranian authorities rapidly departed.
Iran later said that the attempted seizure of the ship was supported by a court order.
Chevron, the manager of the Richmond Voyager, later confirmed that the vessel was still operational and the crew was safe.
But the incident is only the latest in a trend of such efforts according to the U.S. military, who says that Iran has made similar efforts to seize foreign commercial ships 20 times over the past two years.
The initiative to reduce these tensions, Mr. Ryder told the press, must originate with Iran.
“I think the Iranians are the best communicator in terms of the threat posing (sic) by their actions when it comes to seizing commercial vessels in the region, and in one case ... firing on a commercial vessel,” Mr. Ryder said. “So as we have been for a very long time, we’re coordinating with our partners in the region when it comes to U.S. military presence because again, it’s not just the U.S. military that’s out there controlling commercial shipping lanes. We’re working as part of a broader coalition on that effort.”
As military officials hope to keep their focus on China and Russia, the Pentagon has also indicated in comments to The Associated Press that it may place U.S. troops on foreign-flagged commercial vessels to protect them from further seizures and harassment by Iranian forces in the region.
The United States has waged a crypto war with Iran practically since the inception of the current Islamic revolutionary regime, which overthrew the U.S.-backed shah.
The consideration to place American troops on commercial vessels, however, would mark a new era in the strained relationship between Washington and Tehran, as such a move was not even undertaken during the late 1980s “Tanker War,” during which Iran was estimated to have attacked over 160 commercial ships.
