March 28 (UPI) — The USS Tripoli and USS New Orleans arrived in the Middle East, carrying with them 2,200 Marines — with more on the way — hours after an Iranian strike left dozens of U.S. service members hurt at a U.S. base.
The Tripoli and New Orleans are two of several additional vessels and personnel the Pentagon has deployed to the region as the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran enters it’s second month.
The Tripoli Amphibious Group brings with it F-35B Strike Fighters, as well as transport aircraft, amphibious assault vessels and other tactical assets, U.S. Central Command said in a post on X.
The USS Boxer’s amphibious group left port on March 18, with its 2,500 Marines, and the USS George H. W. Bush Carrier Strike Group is heading to the region after finishing pre-deployment tests in the United States, the military publication Task & Purpose reported.
The Army’s 82nd Airborne division is sending at least 1,000 soldiers to the region, and the Pentagon may send another 10,000 soldiers to the region as it considers a ground assault of some type. Of the Marines already there, 1,200 are ground combat forces.
An Iranian attack on Friday at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia where U.S. personnel were stationed injured at least 24 U.S. service members, most of whom reported traumatic brain injuries and at least two of whom were seriously injured, The New York Times reported.
The strike also damaged two aircraft, The Times reported, although it was unclear if one or both were refueling aircraft, after at least two missiles and one drone got through U.S. air defenses at the base.
Central Command on Saturday published an update on Operation Epic Fury in a post on X that said the military has flown more than 11,000 combat flights, struck more than 11,000 targets and destroyed at least 150 Iranian naval vessels.
Houthis enter war
The Iranian-backed Houthis on Saturday launched missile strikes toward Israel, marking Yemen-based group’s first foray into the wider Middle East conflict involving Iran.
The Houthi political and military group in Yemen confirmed it launched the ballistic missiles in response to Israeli strikes a day earlier in key infrastructure sites in Iran, The Guardian reported.
Friday’s strikes hit two of Iran’s largest steel factories, a power plant, civilian nuclear sites and other locations.
Israel also confirmed it detected an incoming missile launched from Yemen, CNN reported.
The Houthis said the strikes on Israel would take place until the end of what it described as “aggression.”
“The Yemeni armed forces, with the help of Allah almighty and relying upon Allah, have carried out the first military operation using a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting sensitive Israeli military sites in southern occupied Palestine,” a Houthi statement said.
War enters second month
Israel and the United States began strikes on Iranian sites exactly one month ago, Feb. 28 that were meant to put pressure on Iran to limit its nuclear program.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday announced the extension of a 10-day pause on strikes targeting Iran’s energy sites as the sides come to possible terms for negotiations.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday accused Israel of contradicting Trump’s 10-day pause with its attacks on key infrastructure.
“Israel claims it acted in coordination with the U.S.,” Araghchi wrote in a post on X.
The “attack contradicts POTUS extended deadline for diplomacy,” Araghchi wrote.
“Iran will exact HEAVY price for Israeli crimes.”
Over the past month, the conflict has broadened to include other Gulf nations. The Houthis’ entry into the war threatens and even broader war.
Kuwait reported drone strikes on an airport there, damaging radar Saturday. Oman also had attacks at the port of Salalah. Officials in Abu Dhabi said falling debris from the interception of a missile injured six people.
Meanwhile, Israel targeted multiple locations in southern Lebanon with airstrikes, and Hezbollah responded with its own attacks on Israel.
Since the start of the war, at least 1,900 Iranians have been killed, Iran’s Red Crescent organization said Friday. Among those were more than 200 children. Other death tolls include at least 1,142 in Lebanon, nearly 100 in Iraq, 19 in Israel and 13 in the United States.
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