He is pushing partners and allies to find ways to reopen the , as fuel prices rise. His best option might be the Marine Corps of .
The Pentagon has deployed the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, a rapid reaction force of about 2,200 men, to the Middle East, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The US could use the unit to seize one or more islands off Iran’s southern coast, either as leverage or as a base to counter Iranian attacks on merchant shipping, according to current and former US officials. The unit, aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli, is expected to arrive in the Middle East from Japan in about a week.
A Marine Expeditionary Force is a self-contained force that operates from ships, which act as mobile bases. It consists of four main elements: a ground operations unit with Marines, equipped with armor and artillery, an air unit with MV-22 Osprey aircraft, helicopters and fighters such as the F-35B, a command staff that coordinates movements, and a support battalion that provides supply, maintenance and logistics. It specializes in sea and air raid operations.
Trump’s choices
a narrow sea passage through which about 20% of the world’s oil passes, through attacks on commercial shipping. The development has caused serious turbulence in the global economy, raising fuel prices in the US and elsewhere and creating a military and political problem for Trump.
US forces are attempting to reopen the Straits by undermining Tehran’s ability to threaten that point: its launch sites, production capabilities and stockpiles of missiles, drones and sea mines. On Tuesday, the US military used bombs specially designed to penetrate fortified facilities on Iranian targets along the coast used to store anti-ship cruise missiles, according to the US Central Command (CENTCOM).
Despite nearly three weeks of attacks by the US and Israel, Iran continues to target US forces and allies in the Middle East.
“The US has conducted thousands of missions, but we are not yet certain that all of Iran’s capabilities have been destroyed,” said Caitlin Talmadge, a researcher at the Brookings Institution and professor at MIT. “This raises questions about whether they will ever be completely destroyed.”
The deployment of the campaign unit gives Trump additional pressure options on Tehran, according to US officials.
The islands controlled by Iran
Iran controls several small islands off its southern coast, which it uses for energy facilities, missile development and hiding ships in underground facilities. The most important of these is Harg Island, which is the country’s main oil export hub. Trump has threatened to hit the island’s oil infrastructure, after an earlier US attack destroyed military installations there.
However, instead of destroying the infrastructure, the Marines could capture the island and use it as a bargaining chip to open the Straits.
“90% of Iran’s oil goes through there. You basically have two options,” said retired general Frank McKenzie. “Either you destroy the infrastructure, with irreversible consequences for the Iranian and global economy, or you seize it and use it as a bargaining tool.”
Such an operation could be carried out either by sea, with amphibious vehicles carrying Marines directly ashore, or by air, with aircraft and helicopters taking off from ships or bases in the area.
Alternatively, the forces could occupy islands within the Straits themselves, gaining strategic control of shipping and the ability to intercept Iranian attacks.
One possible target is Qeshm Island, located at the entrance to the Straits and home to Iranian naval forces and missiles in underground facilities. Also under consideration are the islands of Kis and Hormuz, which have critical infrastructure and a military presence.
Deploying US forces on islands, rather than in mainland Iran, could be a way for Trump to avoid immediately deploying troops on Iranian soil.
“I don’t see them going into Iran itself,” said retired Adm. John Miller. “If they are deployed anywhere, it will probably be on islands around Iran, which offer a tactical advantage for a period of time.”
