From Daily Mail: The Pentagon is gearing up for ground operations in Iran which could last several weeks, officials revealed, as thousands of US Marines pour into the Middle East.
Defense chiefs are bracing for what insiders describe as a ‘major escalation,’ though any military action is expected to stop short of an all-out invasion, sources told The Washington Post.
Instead they will use Special Operations forces backed by infantry troops, the insiders said. It remains unclear if President Donald Trump has or will approve the Pentagon’s reported plans.
The USS Tripoli reached the region on Friday with 3,500 sailors and Marines, including the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group and elements from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, who are based in Japan and are typically tasked with intercepting vessels and seizing territory.
The Tripoli also carried transport and strike fighter aircraft, and amphibious assault assets, according to US Central Command.
“It’s the most updated of the amphibious warships, known as a ‘big deck,’ which allows more room for F-35 Stealth Fighter Jets, Ospreys and other aircraft,” CBS News reports. “The ship had previously been based in Japan when the order to deploy to the Middle East came almost two weeks ago.”
U.S. Sailors and Marines aboard USS Tripoli (LHA 7) arrived in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, March 27. The America-class amphibious assault ship serves as the flagship for the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group / 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit composed of about… pic.twitter.com/JFWiPBbkd2
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 28, 2026
The USS Boxer, two other ships, and another Marine Expeditionary Unit were also ordered to the region from San Diego.
The deployment coincides with the entry of Houthi allies into the conflict, and follows an unsuccessful missile attack on Israel.
CBS News reports:
On Saturday, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels said they entered the month-old war by claiming a missile launch that Israel said it intercepted.
Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for the Houthis, later said in a prerecorded statement aired by the group’s Al-Masirah satellite television that the Houthis had launched a second strike on Israel. The Houthis launched strikes in southern Israel to coincide with attacks from Iran and Hezbollah, Saree said, without identifying the locations. Israel did not immediately comment on whether it intercepted any projectiles from Yemen in the second attack.
The Houthis’ entry could further hurt global shipping if they again target vessels in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off the Red Sea. If the Houthis increase attacks on commercial shipping, as they have in the past, it would further push up oil prices and destabilize “all of maritime security,” said Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group. “The impact would not be limited to the energy market.”
Countries are seeking alternative routes to the Strait of Hormuz, with Bab el-Mandeb becoming crucial for vessels heading to the Suez Canal. 12% of world trade passes through Bab el-Mandeb, and 10% of global maritime trade, including 40% of container ship traffic, passes through the Suez Canal annually.
Houthi rebels attacked over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two, between November 2023 and January 2025, in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Houthi involvement complicates the USS Gerald R. Ford’s deployment to the Red Sea, potentially drawing attacks.
Trump is reportedly considering sending an additional 10,000 troops to the Middle East, even as the administration says the war is nearing its end. The possibility of further force is not off the table, however.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that the US can achieve its objectives without ground troops, but that Trump must “be prepared for multiple contingencies” and that American forces are available “to give the president maximum optionality and maximum opportunity to adjust to contingencies should they emerge.”
On Friday, Trump declared that the war is “sort of finished, but it’s not finished. It’s got to be finished.”
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that if Tehran did not end its threats and nuclear ambitions, Trump is “prepared to unleash hell.”
Read more at Daily Mail
The Dennis Michael Lynch Podcast archive is available below, with the most recent on top. Never miss an episode. Subscribe to the show by downloading The DML News App or go to Apple Podcasts.
