On Sunday, over 3,000 U.S. sailors and marines arrived in the Red Sea amid a deployment announced by Washington to deal with alleged attempts by Iran to seize commercial shipping in the area.
RELATED:
The U.S. Fifth Fleet announced that the contingent arrived aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan and the USS Carter Hall, which transited the Mediterranean and accessed the Red Sea through the Suez Canal.
This deployment aims to reinforce the U.S. presence with "additional naval and aviation assets, as well as more marines and sailors" for "greater maritime capacity and flexibility."
On July 20, President Joe Biden's administration announced an increase in the U.S. presence in the area by deploying an Amphibious Group (ARG) with a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), in addition to F-35 and F-16 forces and a guided missile destroyer, the USS Thomas Hudner.
According to the United States, over last two years, Iran has attacked, seized or attempted to seize almost 20 internationally flagged merchant ships in the area of operations of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).
The Bahrain-based US Fifth Fleet is tasked with policing the Middle East, the Persian Gulf and Central Asia.
In recent years, the Persian Gulf has been the scene of numerous incidents, including attacks on oil tankers and cargo ships, amid the U.S. sanctions against Iranian oil exports.