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WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is deploying an expeditionary unit of United States Marines to the Persian Gulf, ratcheting up its military presence in a bid to deter Iran from seizing any more commercial oil tankers following a spate of such incidents in recent months.
A Marine Expeditionary Unit and accompanying Amphibious Ready Group marks the latest addition to the US military’s presence in the Gulf in response to Iran’s recent seizures.
Deployments of Air Force F-16 and F-35 fighter jets were announced over the past week as a US Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer headed to the Gulf via the Suez Canal.
Iranian naval forces have seized at least three commercial tankers since April in retaliation for recent moves by the United States to confiscate shipments of sanctioned Iranian oil to East Asia.
The United States and its maritime coalition allies have ramped up the pace of patrols in waterways around the Strait of Hormuz in response to the seizures.
Earlier this month, a US destroyer thwarted attempts by Iran’s navy to seize two commercial tankers roughly three hours apart in the Gulf of Oman. In one incident, the crew of the pursuing Iranian navy vessel fired upon the Bahamas-flagged tanker Richmond Voyager, which refused the Iranian crew's orders to stop.
US A-10 aircraft, and more recently F-16 fighter jets, have begun flying regular patrols around the strait in recent weeks in a bid to deter further actions by Iran.
The latest deployment will bring "additional aviation, maritime assets and US Marines, providing even greater flexibility and maritime capability to the region,” US Central Command said in a press release.
Earlier this month, Colin Kahl, the Pentagon's former top policy official, said prior to his departure from his role that Iran's tanker seizures have "the highest attention of the department" and that the most recent incidents were unlikely to be the last.
"US Central Command is committed to defending freedom of navigation within our area of responsibility which includes some of the most important waterways in the world," CENTCOM commander, US Army Gen. Michael "Erik" Kurilla said in a statement on Thursday.
Kurilla noted that the addition of Marines adds "unique capabilities, which alongside our partner nations in the region, further safeguard the free flow of international commerce and uphold the rules-based international order, and deter Iranian destabilizing activities in the region."
