USS Tripoli Reaches Middle East With More Than 3,500 Troops

USS Tripoli Reaches Middle East With More Than 3,500 Troops

Bill Pan

CENTCOM said the Tripoli brings transport aircraft, strike fighters, and amphibious assault capabilities to the region in addition to the Marines aboard.

The USS Boxer, another amphibious assault ship, along with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, has also been ordered to the region from San Diego.

CENTCOM did not disclose more details on where the additional U.S. forces will be positioned, though they are likely to operate within striking distance of Iran, including near key locations such as Kharg Island, a major Iranian oil export terminal off the country’s coast.

In its most recent update on March 25, marking the fourth week of the campaign, CENTCOM said that more than 11,000 targets had been struck since the United States and Israel launched joint operations against Iran on Feb. 28.

On Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States could achieve its objectives in Iran without deploying ground troops and expected the operation to conclude within weeks. He described the latest troop movements as precautionary measures intended to prepare for unforeseen contingencies.

Speaking to reporters after a G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in France, Rubio said Washington was meeting its war goals, which he described as destroying Iran’s missile and drone capabilities, the factories that produce those weapons, as well as elements of its navy and air force.

He said the campaign was “going very well” and was expected to conclude in “weeks, not months.”

“We are ahead of schedule on most of them, and we can achieve them without any ground troops,” Rubio said.

At a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington had delivered Tehran a 15-point “action list” that the United States hopes could serve as a framework for a possible cease-fire.

The proposal includes restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program, the issue at the center of tensions with the United States and Israel, as well as reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway through which a significant share of the world’s oil and gas passes.