Donald Trump has deployed thousands of US Marines to the Strait of Hormuz as the energy crisis from the Iran war grows.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth approved a request to send an amphibious ready group, consisting of warships and about 5,000 Marines.
It includes the USS Tripoli, an 18,500-ton amphibious assault ship, as well as the USS San Diego and USS New Orleans, according to Axios.
The White House will also send the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, a mobile military group based in Japan that responds to crises and raids.
The deployment would also bring America’s premier fighter jet, the F-35, to the Strait.
Three American officials told The Wall Street Journal that the request was made by US Central Command (Centcom), which oversees military operations in the Middle East.
The newspaper said Hegseth today stressed that Washington will “defeat, destroy, disable” Iran’s military.
He added: “But it’s not just that Iran doesn’t have a functioning Air Force, or that their entire Navy is at the bottom of the Persian Gulf, or their missile force is shrinking daily.
They also don’t have the ability to build more. That’s the most important component I’d like to emphasize today.”