The US is deploying thousands of marines and additional warships to the Middle East as Iran intensifies attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, in signals that the current war is expanding.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the US Department of War approved the deployment after a request from US Central Command (CENTCOM).
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth approved sending several warships and around 5,000 marines and sailors, according to three US officials who spoke to the newspaper.
US outlet Axios also reported that Hegseth plans to deploy the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli along with its marine unit.
A US official told Axios that the deployment would add “thousands of marines and several warships and F-35 fighter jets” to support forces already operating in the region.
The marine expeditionary unit could carry out ground operations if ordered to do so, though the official declined to comment on the likelihood of such a scenario.
Another US official told the Associated Press that roughly 2,500 marines and at least one amphibious assault ship are already heading to the region.
The US deployment comes as President Donald Trump essentially confirmed further escalation in the conflict.
“We’ll hit them even harder next week,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News radio, adding that the war would end when he “feels it in my bones”.
Iranian strikes on Qatar
The latest US moves came as Iran launched missile attacks targeting Qatar on Saturday morning.
Qatar’s Ministry of Defence announced on Saturday morning that it intercepted two missiles, after blasts were heard in the capital Doha and authorities said they had evacuated some key areas.
Interceptors were seen downing two projectiles over the Qatari capital’s downtown area and blasts were heard, according to AFP journalists, as Iran presses on with its retaliatory air campaign against Gulf states.
The country’s defence ministry said in two separate posts on Saturday that its military had “intercepted” a missile attack targeting the country.
Late Friday night, the sound of interceptions was heard across the skies of the capital Doha before officials confirmed that Qatari forces had responded to the attack.
Qatar’s Ministry of Interior said authorities had evacuated several areas as a precautionary measure.
“The relevant authorities are evacuating a number of specified areas as a temporary precautionary measure,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that the step was intended to ensure public safety “until the danger passes”.
In Doha’s central Musheireb district some residents received phone alerts telling them to “evacuate the area immediately… to the nearest safest place as a temporary precaution”.
Scores of residents and some hotel guests in Musheireb rushed into underground car parks for shelter, an AFP journalist witnessed.
Law enforcement were out on the streets and some areas were cordoned off in Musheireb, which hosts a country office for US tech giant Google and the US payments firm American Express.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s interior minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, said the country’s security situation remains stable.
“We will not hesitate to take any measure that guarantees the stability of our country,” he said in remarks to Qatar Television.
