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The United States is sending more Marines and ships to the Middle East two weeks into the US-Israeli campaign against Iran, US media reported on Friday.
The Wall Street Journal quoted US officials as saying the Japan-based USS Tripoli and its attached Marines are en route to the region, while The New York Times reported that some 2,500 Marines aboard as many as three ships were headed for the Middle East.
CNN said it was a Marine Expeditionary Unit — which typically includes some 2,500 Marines and sailors — that was being deployed.
The Journal said the request for the additional Marines was made by US Central Command, which is responsible for US troops in the Middle East, and approved by Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth.
There are already Marines in the region supporting operations against Iran, the newspaper added.
Read Also: Israel Is ‘Crushing’ Iran, Hezbollah – Netanyahu Declares
The United States and Israel launched a massive air campaign against Iran on February 28, and Tehran has responded with waves of drones and missiles as well as attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, which is used for a fifth of global crude trade.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday the joint US-Israeli campaign was “crushing” Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah and called for Iranians to rise up and overthrow the Islamic republic.
Netanyahu spoke soon after the new Iranian ruler Mojtaba Khamenei’s first statement, in which he vowed to avenge the Iranians killed in the war so far.
“We are crushing Iran and Hezbollah,” Netanyahu said in a televised media briefing.
In wide-ranging comments on the war, Netanyahu said he was seeking to use the conflict to oust the clerical leadership in Tehran.
Read Also: Iran Won’t Relent Until US Pays – Security Chief Declares
“I have added a third objective, which is to create, for the Iranian people, the conditions to bring down this regime,” Netanyahu said.
The other two goals remained preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons and destroying its ballistic missile capabilities, he said.
The Israeli leader used his remarks to demand that Beirut rein in Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which has joined Iran in launching missile strikes on Israel.
“I told the Lebanese government a few days ago — you are playing with fire if you continue allowing Hezbollah to operate, in violation of your commitment to disarm it,” he said.
“The time has come for you to do so. Now, if you do not do so, it is clear that we will do so,” he continued.
Hezbollah on Thursday said it carried out a number of attacks against Israel, including on an air defence system near the town of Caesarea, home to Netanyahu’s private residence.
Israel has threatened to target Lebanese government infrastructure if the attacks by Hezbollah persist.
Netanyahu had a personal message for Iran’s new leader, saying: “We eliminated the old tyrant, and the new tyrant, the puppet of the Revolutionary Guards, can’t show his face in public.”
Khamenei had earlier issued a first statement in his name that was read out by a TV presenter.
Iranian security chief Ali Larijani said Thursday that his country would not give up fighting until the United States came to regret the “grave miscalculation” of launching its war against the Islamic republic.
US President Donald “Trump says he is looking for a speedy victory. While starting a war is easy, it cannot be won with a few tweets. We will not relent until making you sorry for this grave miscalculation,” Larijani said on X.
Mojtaba Khamenei, Iranian supreme leader, says his country will continue to close the Strait of Hormuz to pressure Iran’s enemies.
