US officials told the WSJ that the US military is preparing plans to ship Marines aboard commercial ships of private companies. The decision after a series of seizures of boats by Iranian forces in the Middle East.
While the plan has not yet received final approval, it has been approved by senior officials in the Biden administration and could go into effect as early as this month.
The Camp Lejeune Marines have already been transported to Bahrain and have received specific training, while other personnel are expected to arrive aboard American warships soon. The plan is currently being examined by the Pentagon even if at the moment there is the strictest secrecy about it
White House spokesman John Kirby stressed that the Strait of Hormuz, where some accidents have occurred, is a "vital waterway". The United States, he said, is very attentive to Iran's threats to close this "core point". The strait connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the open ocean. At least 20% of the world's crude oil passes through this strategic maritime communication route.
The issue took on particular relevance when Iranian military forces attempted to commandeer two civilian tankers on July 5, shooting and hitting one of them. The Richmond Voyager suffered hull damage, according to Navy officials. Iranian forces then fled following the arrival of the destroyer USS McFaul.
In another recent incident, US and British warships responded to a June 4 distress call from a merchant vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz, where three Iranian vessels had threatened the civilian vessel.
During that attack McFaul and the Royal Navy frigate HMS Lancaster responded by sending in a helicopter to drive away the Iranian ships. In May, the tanker Niovi was seized by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps while in the strait. The civilian vessel had departed Dubai and was en route to the United Arab Emirates when a dozen fast boats surrounded it. In April, Iran carried out a similar seizure of the tanker Advantage Sweet.
Other measures such as the deployment of F-35s, along with other fighter aircraft and A-10 attack jets, in the Persian Gulf region are also being studied.
The Pentagon has also sent another Navy destroyer to bolster the presence of American naval vessels already in the region. Iranian officials have criticized the deployments, calling them destabilizing and provocative. The Marines training for the Bahrain mission are part of the 26th Expeditionary Unit, a naval force usually deployed aboard Navy warships. Other members of the unit are aboard the USS Bataan, USS Carter Hall, and USS Green Mesa, as they arrive in the Middle East.
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