About 2,500 U.S. Marines are being deployed to the Middle East as American and Israeli strikes keep pounding Iran and the Islamic Republic keeps attacking Persian Gulf shipping and energy infrastructure. As Iranian threats choke global oil shipments, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said “we have been dealing with it and don’t need to worry about it.”
Roughly 2,500 Marines and at least one amphibious assault ship are headed for the Middle East, a U.S. official told The Associated Press.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans, said that elements from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli have been ordered to the Middle East. The move would mark a major addition of troops to the region.
Marine Expeditionary Units are not only trained and equipped to conduct amphibious landings but they also specialize in bolstering security at embassies, evacuating civilians, and disaster relief. While the deployment is a major increase of troops to the region, it does not necessarily indicate that a ground operation is imminent or will take place at all.
The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, as well the Tripoli and other amphibious assault ships carrying the Marines are based in Japan and have been at sea in the waters of the Pacific Ocean for the past several days, according to images released by the military. Their location puts them more than a week away from the waters off Iran.
The deployment of the additional Marines was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
— AP's Konstantin Toropin
Here is the latest:
In radio interview, Trump balked at question on Iran’s Kharg Island
Asked during the Fox News Radio interview — which was recorded Thursday night and aired the following morning — whether he was thinking about seizing the island, the president said it was “not high on the list” but also he could “change my mind in seconds.”
The question appeared to touch a nerve, eliciting scorn as Trump called it a question that shouldn’t be asked.
“Who’d ask a question like that, and what fool would answer it?” he said. “Let’s say I was going to do it or let’s say I wasn’t going to do it, why would I tell you?”
Trump says US ‘obliterated’ military targets on Iran’s Kharg Island, warns oil infrastructure there could be next
The president announced the action in a social media post as he prepared to fly to Florida for the weekend.
“Moments ago, at my direction, the United States Central Command executed one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East, and totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran’s crown jewel, Kharg Island,” Trump said.
He added: “For reasons of decency, I have chosen NOT to wipe out the Oil Infrastructure on the Island. However, should Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider this decision.”
Trump answered questions from reporters traveling with him before he boarded Air Force One but did not mention the latest U.S. military operation.
The small island in the Persian Gulf is the primary terminal through which all of Iran’s oil exports pass.
A large explosion rocked a square in Tehran that was filled with people for annual Quds Day demonstrations in support of the Palestinians, Iranian state television reported. Thousands chanted “death to Israel” and “death to America.”
More than 100 children are among the 773 people killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon, the Lebanese Health Ministry said Friday. Iranian authorities say more than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran, and Israel has reported 12 deaths. All six crew members aboard a KC-135 refueling aircraft that crashed in western Iraq are dead, raising the U.S. military death toll in Operation Epic Fury to at least 13.
Israel said Friday its strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon are “ continuing and intensifying.” Hezbollah’s leader said his gunmen “will fight until the end.” U.S. President Donald Trump said the war would end “when I feel it in my bones.”
Qatar’s defense ministry says it intercepted missile attack, evacuations carried out
It announced the interception early Saturday. AP journalists in Doha heard explosions consistent with possible interceptions.
The ministry said earlier that authorities were evacuating “a number” of areas as a temporary precaution, without identifying the locations. Emergency alerts were sent to people’s phones.
Evacuations have been rare in Qatar since Iran started targeting it with drones and missiles. In early March, authorities evacuated residents near the U.S. Embassy in Doha.
Strike on southern Lebanon health center kills 12 medics
An Israeli strike hit a health care center in the village of Burj Qalaouiyah in the Bint Jbeil District, killing 12 doctors, paramedics and nurses who were on duty, Lebanon’s health ministry said. The toll was preliminary as rescue teams continued searching for missing people, it added.
The ministry said it was the second attack on the health sector within hours, after another Israeli strike on the southern village of Souaneh killed two paramedics and wounded five others when it hit a paramedic center.
The ministry condemned the attack and denounced what it called as continued violence against health workers.
Israeli strikes have so far killed 18 paramedics among 773 people reported killed in Lebanon since fighting between Hezbollah and Israel reignited March 2.