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Asian stock markets saw major declines on Monday as gold futures dropped 8% and crude oil prices continued to climb amid heightened uncertainty in the Middle East.

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As the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz continues to choke global supply, benchmark US crude rose above $100 a barrel on Monday morning in Europe.

Brent crude, the international standard, went up to more than $113 a barrel. The price of Brent crude has zigzagged lately from about $70 per barrel before the war began to as high as $119.50.

European stock indexes opened with losses, with the FTSE in London losing 1.5%, the CAC-40 in Paris being down by 1.6%, and the DAX in Frankfurt dropping by 2% at the opening.

Earlier on Monday, the International Energy Agency warned that the global economy faces a “major, major threat” because of the Iran war and that at least 40 energy assets across nine countries were damaged.

Meanwhile, the de-escalation of the conflict is nowhere near in sight.

Trump warned over the weekend that the US would “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if it does not fully open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, prompting Tehran to say it would respond to any such strike with attacks on US and Israeli energy and infrastructure assets in the region.

“Trump’s ultimatum and Iran’s retaliatory warnings point to a widening conflict that keeps energy disruption and market volatility elevated, with no clear off-ramp in sight,” said Ng Jing Wen, analyst at Mizuho Bank in Singapore.

In Europe, the benchmark natural gas futures were trading above €60 per MWh at the market open.

This follows last week’s gains as escalating threats to Middle Eastern energy facilities heightened fears of deeper supply disruptions.

In Asia, stock markets were also significantly impacted by the uncertainty around the Middle East crisis, with Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 dropping 3.5%. In Taiwan, the Taiex shed 2.5%, South Korea’s Kospi dropped 6.5%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 3.8% and the Shanghai Composite declined 3.6%.

Higher oil prices, which also shook stock markets on Friday, dashed hopes for a possible upcoming cut in interest rates by the Federal Reserve, analysts said. Before the war, traders were betting that the Fed would cut rates at least twice this year. Central banks in Europe, Japan and the United Kingdom also recently held their interest rates steady.

The S&P 500 fell 1.5% Friday to close its fourth straight losing week, its longest such streak in a year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 443 points, or 1%, and the Nasdaq Composite tumbled 2%.

On Wall Street, roughly three out of every four stocks in the S&P 500 fell on Friday.

Stocks of smaller companies, which can feel the pinch of higher interest rates more than their bigger rivals, led the way lower. The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks fell a market-leading 2.3%.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury finished last week with a jump to 4.38% Friday from 4.25% late Thursday and from just 3.97% before the war started.

The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for what the Fed might do, rose to 3.88% from 3.79%.

In currency trading, the US dollar rose to 159.53 Japanese yen from 159.22 yen. The euro cost $1.1526, down from $1.1571.

The Pentagon is reportedly sending the Wasp class amphibious assault ship USS Boxer and the rest of its Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), loaded with elements of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). This comes as the Trump administration is reported to be increasingly considering seizing or blockading Iran’s highly strategic Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf as part of a new phase of Operation Epic Fury.

It has now been widely reported that what is described as an “accelerated” deployment of the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group and the 11th MEU from the West Coast will be in support of Operation Epic Fury.

The Boxer Amphibious Ready Group also includes two other amphibious warfare ships, the San Antonio class USS Portland and the Whidbey Island class USS Comstock. The 11th MEU has roughly 2,500 personnel, in total, and includes air and ground components.

This follows reports last week that the America class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli and its ARG, carrying elements of the 31st MEU, had also begun moving from the Pacific toward the Middle to support ongoing operations against Iran.

Axios reported today that the Trump administration could be leaning toward establishing a blockade around Iran’s Kharg Island, through which it exports much of its oil, or occupying it, citing unnamed officials. The central goal of doing this would be to step up pressure on the regime in Tehran to, in turn, force it to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Traffic through that waterway has come to a virtual halt, which is causing massive reverberations across global energy markets.

“[Trump] wants Hormuz open. If he has to take Kharg Island to make it happen, that’s going to happen. If he decides to have a coastal invasion, that’s going to happen,” one official said, according to Axios. “But that decision hasn’t been made.”

The U.S. military carried out extensive strikes on Kharg Island this past weekend. A deployment of U.S. ground troops there would be a major escalation that could have significant ramifications, including domestically.

“We’ve always had boots on the ground in conflicts under every president, including Trump. I know this is a fixation in the media, and I get the politics, but the president is going to do what’s right,” a second official, who also said no decision has yet been made, said, per Axios.

Just yesterday, TWZ spoke with Joseph Votel, the former commander of U.S. Central Command, with a particular focus on the tumultuous Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20 percent of the world’s oil passes. You can read that interview here.

In the meantime, publicly available flight-tracking data indicates that the U.S. Navy is using MQ-4C Triton intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance drones to monitor Kharg Island as part of their patrols of the northern Persian Gulf.

Trump has warned that he might consider targeting oil facilities on the island if Iran or other countries “do anything to interfere” with the safe passage of ships through the strait.

Destroying or damaging oil infrastructure on Kharg could have unintended side effects, however. On the one hand, it would further push up global oil prices. The complex nature of infrastructure might take years to repair, which would compound this. In the long term, there is also the question of whether oil infrastructure here should be preserved for the benefit of a potential new Iranian government.

Any successor to the current regime would lose out on vital oil income, potentially driving further internal strife.

There is also the possibility that seizing the island and cutting off the current Iranian government from its most vital source of revenue could be used as a catalyst to bring about its fall.

Then there is the huge question about the kind of military effort that would be required to seize Kharg. This would require a large-scale, sustained operation and would be brought with risk. The island is only 20 miles from the Iranian mainland, putting whatever U.S. force is there at extreme risk of bombardment of multiple types. Getting amphibious assault ships through the Strait and into the Gulf would be an issue, as well, and those ships would be heavily targeted during transit and especially once inside the Gulf. With this in mind, a longer-range aviation assault would be most likely.

A naval blockade of the island might be easier to achieve in the short term, but it would run the risk of Iranian attacks, likely involving uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), drones, and other asymmetric options, as well as anti-ship cruise missiles, the use of which has been limited up to this point, as you can read about here.

As already noted, additional U.S. forces are headed to the region in the form of the Tripoli ARG and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). While the deployment of the big-deck amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli had already been reported, we now know it is being supported by the amphibious transport docks USS San Diego (LPD-22) and USS New Orleans (LPD-18), thanks to publicly available ship-tracking data.

What exactly the next phase of Operation Epic Fury will look like could be clearer as the Navy amphibious warfare ships and the thousands of Marines they are carrying get closer to the Middle East.

UPDATES

UPDATE: 6:16 PM EST –

There are some mixed messages coming out of Washington about the future of Epic Fury.

President Donald Trump said he is considering “winding down” the war on Iran. His comments, delivered on his Truth Social account, come even though two Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs) are steaming toward the Middle East and the Pentagon has reportedly drawn up plans to put American troops into Iran with the president’s approval.

Trump added that the U.S. could end the war effort even with the Iranians still closing the Strait of Hormuz.

“We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East with respect to the Terrorist Regime of Iran,” Trump proclaimed.

He stated that the U.S. has: “(1) Completely degrading Iranian Missile Capability, Launchers, and everything else pertaining to them. (2) Destroying Iran’s Defense Industrial Base. (3) Eliminating their Navy and Air Force, including Anti Aircraft Weaponry. (4) Never allowing Iran to get even close to Nuclear Capability, and always being in a position where the U.S.A. can quickly and powerfully react to such a situation, should it take place. (5) Protecting, at the highest level, our Middle Eastern Allies, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, and others.”

The Strait, Trump added, “will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it — The United States does not! If asked, we will help these Countries in their Hormuz efforts, but it shouldn’t be necessary once Iran’s threat is eradicated. Importantly, it will be an easy Military Operation for them.”

Our coverage has ended for the day. Stay tuned for more.

UPDATE: 5:15 PM EST –

Retired Marine Gen. James Mattis, who served as Defense Secretary and CENTCOM commander, weighed in on the war, saying he doesn’t believe regime change is likely.

Iranian state media warns Iran will target the UAE’s industrial port city of Ras Al-Khaimah if Iranian islands are again attacked from that nation, Arab News reported.

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is reportedly sending three California-based warships and roughly 2,500 Marines to the Middle East, the second significant deployment in a week.

The three warships are part of the San Diego-based USS Boxer amphibious ready group. The Marines are from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, based at Camp Pendleton. The deployments were reported Friday by the Associated Press, citing Pentagon sources.

A 2,500-strong Marine unit accompanied by the USS Tripoli warship launched from Japan on Saturday.

The major reinforcement comes as the war’s economic shock waves are felt throughout the globe, as Washington seeks to secure vital shipping lanes and deter further attacks on energy infrastructure around the Persian Gulf.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, front, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine arrive for a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington on Thursday.

(Mandel Ngan / AFP via Getty Images)

President Trump has continued pressing allies to join his proposed coalition to patrol the Iranian-controlled Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane through which about 20% of the world’s oil supply passes. So far, Europe, Japan, China and Australia have refused to heed the call.

Trump on Thursday said Iran “is close to demolished,” but that securing the Strait of Hormuz remained a struggle. He suggested the U.S. was working to secure the strait not for its own oil needs, but “just to be nice” to other countries that rely on oil from the region to a much larger degree than the U.S.

Marines perform a demonstration with helicopters and the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer Oct. 18, 2025, on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.

(Gregory Bull / Associated Press)

“They complain about the high oil prices they are forced to pay, but don’t want to help open the Strait of Hormuz, a simple military maneuver that is the single reason for the high oil prices. So easy for them to do, with so little risk. COWARDS, and we will REMEMBER!” Trump wrote Friday on Truth Social.

Iran continued sweeping attacks on Mideast energy facilities, a retaliation to Israeli strikes on its Iran’s South Pars field, the world’s largest natural gas field Wednesday. The fallout has dragged the gulf states into the war amid the largest energy supply disruption in history.

Iranian Shahed drones hammered Kuwait’s largest oil refinery Friday. Similar attacks triggered fires at Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar, bringing energy product screaming to a halt at the largest natural gas hub in the globe. Repairs are expected to take years.

Meanwhile, United Arab Emirates’ air defense systems were countering Iranian missiles overnight, and Saudi Arabia said it might respond with force if Iran continues to attack facilities in the kingdom.

An Israeli self-propelled howitzer artillery gun fires rounds toward southern Lebanon from a position in the upper Galilee in northern Israel near the border on Friday.

(Jalaa Marey / AFP via Getty Images)

Israel said Friday it had killed Esmail Ahmadi, a senior intelligence official in Iran’s Basij and deputy to its commander, in an airstrike. Officials described Ahmadi as “one of the most important pillars” of the Basij volunteer paramilitary force.

Even as Israel carries out daily decapitation airstrikes in Tehran and the U.S. deploys renewed forces to its front door, the Islamic Republic has not faltered.

Abolfazl Shekarchi, a senior spokesperson for Iran’s armed forces, said American and Israeli officials could be targeted worldwide.

“From now on, based on the information we have, even recreational and tourist locations around the world will not be safe for you,” Shekarchi said.

Oil prices have surged past $100 a barrel and found a volatile new floor amid the chaos.

Financial markets have reacted with sustained losses. Wall Street has now posted its fourth consecutive week of declines, with investors increasingly pricing in the risk that higher energy costs could slow economic growth while reigniting inflation. Analysts warn that persistently elevated crude prices are likely to squeeze corporate margins and weigh on consumer spending in the United States and beyond.

The International Monetary Fund has cautioned that the conflict could push inflation higher, too. The Federal Reserve is now facing renewed uncertainty as they weigh whether to hold interest rates higher for longer in response to rising energy costs.

At a White House event on Friday, Trump maintained that the United States’ military operation is “going extremely well in Iran.”

“The difference between them and us is they had a navy two weeks ago and they have no navy anymore. It’s all at the bottom of the sea,” Trump said. “Fifty-eight ships were knocked down in two days and we have the greatest navy in the world. It is not even close.”

The president did not take questions from reporters in the room. But in unprompted remarks, he said the United States and Iran are not engaging in talks because their leaders “are all gone,” adding to the uncertainty about the war’s exit strategy.

“We are having a hard time, we want to talk to them and there is nobody to talk to,” he said. “We have nobody to talk to and you know what? We like it that way.”

CAMPING in the great outdoors is not everyone’s cup of tea – but what if you could have a glass of cider instead?

This campsite in Dorset is set within the grounds of an apple orchard used to make award-winning cider.

Called Dorset Nectar Orchard Campsite, the site has room for just 14 tent pitches, so each is spaced out and fairly private.

There won’t be any children running about either as guests staying here have to be over 20-years-old.

For cider fans, this campsite is the dream stay as it’s set within an orchard with over 3,000 apple trees that forms part of the cider farm.

The main building at the campsite is a taproom where campers are welcome to buy and try 13 types of award-winning cider on offer.

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It also sells apple juice, craft beers and apple cider vinegar.

You can sip away on a tasty cider at one of the picnic benches while enjoying the spring sunshine.

There’s also the chance to barbecue or cook up a storm by your tent at one of the raised firepits.

Campers can join a tour of the cider farm on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays too.

Along with the taproom and tours, the campsite has a hot food spot called Oliver’s Kitchen which opens on Saturdays offering hot food like cider sausage baps.

On Saturdays, there’s also live music in the Cider Garden.

For nature lovers, head out on one of the footpaths through fields and down to the River Brit.

For those who want to take home a souvenir, there’s a cider shop which sells biscuits, chutneys, jams, sausages, craft ales, local wines and of course, apple-related products from the orchard.

When it comes to pitches, it has to be a tent which sleeps up to a maximum of six people.

Prices start from £34 for a one night stay for two adults – or £17 per night.

When it comes to reviews, lots have praised the campsite particularly for its cider experience.

One wrote: “We loved the quirkiness of camping between the orchard rows. The trees give your pitch separation and privacy and it’s so peaceful!

“Added bonus having a taproom just up from the pitches with a wonderful beer garden with lots of space in the sunshine.”

Another said they loved the “relaxing live music and fab homemade Burgers on the Saturday as well as sampling their delicious ciders.”

Dorset West Bay beach which sits on the Jurassic coast is just a 15-minute drive away.

The beach might be recognisable to TV fans as it’s where the ITV drama Broadchurch, starring David Tennant and Olivia Colman, was filmed.

It’s known for its sweeping golden sands with enormous cliffs in the background.

The campsite reopens on March 27 with the bar open between April 1 and August 15, 2026.

Here are the UK pubs that have their own campsites with cheap pitches.

And here are more campsites that are affordable with some of the country’s best views.

Beirut, Lebanon and Gaza City, Palestine – Along Beirut’s downtown waterfront, Alaa is looking for somewhere to rest his head.

The Syrian refugee, originally from the occupied Golan Heights, is now homeless. He explained that he had already spent the day wandering around the Lebanese capital trying to find shelter.

He used to live in Dahiyeh – the southern suburbs of Beirut that have been pummelled by Israeli attacks, which have now killed more than 1,000 across Lebanon.

Now, he’s just looking for somewhere he can be safe. And in that context, Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim festival that began on Friday, is far from his mind.

When asked if he had any plans for Eid, he replied in the negative. Instead, his focus was on getting a tent.

“I got rejected from staying in a school, then I went to sleep on the corniche,” Alaa said. “Then people from the municipality told me to come here to downtown Beirut’s waterfront.”

Alaa wasn’t able to find a tent and is sleeping in the open air for now. But others in the area have, transforming a downtown more famous for its expensive restaurants and bars into a tent city for those displaced by the fighting. Across Lebanon, more than a million people have been displaced.

Lebanese are uncertain when this war will end, particularly as they have barely recovered from the conflict with Israel that ran between October 2023 and November 2024.

It makes celebrations difficult – a common theme across the countries affected by the current conflict.

In Iran, now in its third week of US-Israeli attacks – with no sign of an immediate end and an economic crisis that preceded the conflict, people are struggling to afford any of the items typically bought during the holiday season.

And it is potentially dangerous for people to shop at places like Tehran’s grand bazaar, which has been damaged by the bombing.

The religious element of Eid adds an extra sensitivity for antigovernment Iranians, some of whom now see any sign of religiosity as support for the Islamic Republic. The fact that Nowruz – the Persian New Year – falls on Friday this year means that some in the antigovernment camp will be focused on that celebration instead, and eschewing any events to mark Eid.

Struggling in Gaza

Many Palestinians in Gaza want to celebrate Eid, but the enclave’s economic crisis, brought on by Israel’s genocidal war, makes it difficult.

Israeli restrictions on the entry of goods into Gaza, which have increased since the war against Iran started, have driven up prices further, including the cost of children’s toys.

Khaled Deeb, a 62-year-old living in a partially destroyed home in Gaza City, had ventured into the central Remal market, curious to see how expensive fruit and vegetables had gotten in the run-up to Eid.

“From the outside, the Eid atmosphere looks lively and vibrant,” Khaled said, pointing to the crowded market. “But financially, things are extremely bad. People have all left their homes and are now living in tents and displacement. Everyone has lost everything during the war.”

Khaled says he can’t afford the fruit and vegetables, and will have to go without. Only “kings” could buy them, he said, not “poor and exhausted people” like him.

What makes it worse is his memory of what things were like before the war, when he owned a supermarket.

“During Eid, I would give my daughters and sisters gifts of more than 3,000 shekels ($950) when visiting them, not to mention preparing the house, buying Eid clothes for my children, and sweets and chocolates to welcome the holiday,” Khaled said. None of that is going to happen this Eid, even with a ceasefire in Gaza.

His sentiment was echoed by Shireen Shreim, a mother of three.

“Our joy in Eid is incomplete,” she said, as she wandered through the market. “We have come out of two years of war with immense hardship, only to face a life where even the most basic necessities are unavailable.”

And with Israel showing few signs that it is willing to stop violently attacking Palestinians, as well as other countries in the region, Shireen has no idea when Gaza will ever be rebuilt.

“I live in an apartment with completely hollowed-out walls,” she explained. “My husband and I put up tarps and wood, and we are continuing our lives. We are much better off than others.”

“Every time I return home, I feel sad,” she added. “As you can see, people are living in nylon and cloth tents in the streets, without any humane shelter. How will these people celebrate Eid?”

Back in Beirut, Karim Safieddine, a political researcher and organiser, is stoic. He said he would be celebrating Eid with his extended family, despite the difficult circumstances.

“Although we have been displaced by the war, we believe that consolidating these family bonds and creating a sense of communal solidarity is the first and foremost condition to survive this war,” Karim said.

“Without solidarity, we won’t be able to build a society, a country,” he said. “I think that’s a starting point for many people attempting to really create a sense of forward-looking vision for a country under bombs, without any form of toxic positivity, of course.”

WASHINGTON — In the escalating war in Iran, the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs would ordinarily be at the center of the geopolitical fray.

Typically led by a veteran diplomat, the bureau’s role would be to coordinate U.S. foreign policy across an 18-country region, much of which has become a chaotic battlefield scarred by drone and missile strikes as the U.S. and Israel remain locked in conflict with Iran.

The Trump administration for a time put Mora Namdar, a lawyer of Iranian descent with limited management experience, in charge before later moving her to a different post. One of her credentials was her contribution to Project 2025, a conservative think tank’s blueprint for the second Trump administration. Namdar’s last Senate-confirmed predecessor was a longtime Middle East expert who had been with the department since 1984 and had served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.

Now that bureau is also working with far fewer resources. The administration’s most recent budget proposed a 40% cut to the bureau, though Congress eventually enacted less dramatic cuts. The administration also eliminated the dedicated Iran office, merging it with the Iraq office.

Staff reductions and management choices hamper emergency response

These kinds of personnel and management choices — coupled with President Trump’s moves to shrink government and confine decision-making to a tight circle — are limiting the ability of the United States to handle a global emergency, according to interviews with more than a dozen current and former U.S. officials, many of whom recently left government.

In divisions of the State Department that typically would handle the Iran response, numerous veteran diplomats with decades of collective experience were fired, retired or were reassigned — replaced by more junior officials or political appointees. The administration cut more than 80 staffers in Near Eastern Affairs, according to numbers compiled by a State Department employee who was terminated last year based on surveys of colleagues. (The department does not release official figures on Foreign Service officer staffing levels but did not dispute the number.)

The Trump administration has left the assistant secretary position in charge of Near Eastern Affairs vacant, along with key ambassadorships in the Middle East. Four of the five supervisors in the bureau have temporary titles.

The current and former officials, some of whom asked for anonymity to discuss sensitive internal matters during an active conflict, paint a portrait of an understaffed government workforce struggling to execute the president’s agenda. Those who remain tell colleagues that their analysis, recommendations and advice go unheeded.

The State Department vigorously disputed those assessments.

“As far as we can tell, AP’s entire ‘report’ on the evacuations does not include any conversations with people actually involved. Instead, it relies on ‘outside’ or ‘former official’ sources that have no idea what they are talking about. We walked AP through specific inaccuracy after specific inaccuracy — indeed how the whole premise was wrong,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.

More than 3,800 State Dept. employees departed since Trump took office

The State Department saw a departure of more than 3,800 employees since President Trump took office through a combination of reductions in force, staffers taking the Fork in the Road deferred resignation plan and ordinary retirements. According to estimates by the American Foreign Service Association, the labor union that represents foreign service officers, senior foreign service ranks were disproportionately represented in the layoffs compared to their share of the overall workforce.

“He’s making choices without the larger expertise of the United States government that would flag issues of consequence,” said Max Stier, CEO of the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit group that studies federal workforce issues. “Sometimes government is slow-moving because there are a lot of different factors that need to be balanced against each other.”

For instance, the administration appears to have been caught off guard by what would happen once the U.S. struck Iran — something Trump himself acknowledged this week when he expressed surprise that Tehran retaliated with strikes on American allies in the region. “Nobody expected that. We were shocked. They fought back,” Trump told reporters this week.

Pigott said staffing reductions “are not having any negative impact on our ability to respond to this operation, our ability to plan, and our ability to execute in service to Americans.” He added that the department “rejects the premise that key decisions were made without meaningful input from experienced professionals.”

But Iranian retaliation on U.S. allies was predictable, according to former officials, as well as previous war games and conflict models run by both the U.S. military and private organizations. The National Security Council, which Trump has pared, typically would have presented the president with analysis from experts within the bureaucracy.

Instead, decisions are made by a small group of officials close to the president without the planning or coordination of the larger machinery of government, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also serves as the president’s national security adviser.

“In the Trump Administration, decisions are made by President Trump and senior administration officials and not by no-name bureaucrat leakers who whine to the press about not being consulted about highly classified operations,” White House spokesperson Dylan Johnson said.

Advice from career officials often went unheeded

“In the time that I was there, there was no policy process to speak of,” said Chris Backemeyer, who served in Near Eastern Affairs as a deputy assistant secretary of state before resigning last year. Backemeyer was a major proponent of the Iran deal that Trump abandoned. He recently left government to run for Congress as a Democrat in Nebraska.

“They did not want to hear any advice from career people,” said Backemeyer.

Namdar was later moved to be the head of Consular Affairs, the part of the department responsible for providing assistance to American citizens overseas and issuing visas to foreign visitors.

When the U.S. made the decision to strike Iran, Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee offered embassy staff in Jerusalem the opportunity to evacuate — a sign that he knew strikes were coming. But some other embassies in the region did not make similar arrangements — leaving nonessential personnel and their families stranded in a war zone.

The department said it has been issuing travel warnings since January and was fully staffed to handle the crisis the moment the strikes were launched.

Evacuation planning was chaotic

Still, little planning appears to have gone into how to evacuate the Americans who were living, working, visiting or studying in many of the countries that became engulfed in the conflict — in part because the White House seems to have underestimated the possibility of the strikes expanding into a prolonged multi-country war, as evidenced by Trump’s own remarks.

After Iranian attacks on allies like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, the State Department began calling for Americans to leave the region. But numerous former Consular Affairs staffers say such planning should have begun long before U.S. strikes started.

In a statement posted to social media, Namdar only told Americans to evacuate several days into the conflict, when airspace was largely closed and many commercial flights were unavailable.

“The messaging that went out to American citizens — after the U.S. struck Iran — was woefully late and, initially, confusing,” said Yael Lempert, who served as U.S. ambassador to Jordan until 2025. Lempert is one of five former ambassadors expected to speak about the department’s failures at an event Thursday at the American Academy of Diplomacy in Washington.

Other poorly executed evacuations, such the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, have drawn criticism.

But this time they’re compounded by the loss of experienced people, officials say. Consular Affairs has lost more than 150 jobs in the Trump administration due to a combination of reductions in force, dismissals of probationary employees and retirements, according to a U.S. official who asked for anonymity — though other parts of the department were hit much harder.

The department notes that it has offered assistance to nearly 50,000 Americans impacted by the conflict, with more than 60 flights evacuating citizens from the region. In total, the department says more than 70,000 Americans have been able to return home since the outbreak of hostilities on Feb. 28.

Democrat says personnel reduction imperiled safety

“The loss of experienced personnel through these RIFs has clearly undermined the Bureau of Consular Affairs’ ability to fulfill its most important mission, to protect Americans abroad,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement.

Language skills at the department are also atrophying. Thirteen Arabic speakers and four Farsi speakers, all trained at taxpayer expense, were among employees let go, according to a draft letter being circulated by former foreign service officers.

It can cost $200,000 to train a foreign service officer in a language. The letter estimates that the total number of people fired by the State Department in the name of efficiency received more than $35 million in taxpayer-funded language training and more than $100 million in total training and other career development.

The State Department has set up two temporary task forces to deal with the crisis in the Middle East. One aims to bolster the capacities of Near East Affairs and another is aimed at helping Consular Affairs evacuate Americans.

A group of more than 250 Foreign Service officers were part of the administration’s reduction-in-force last year but still remain on the State Department’s payroll. Many have volunteered to return to the department to work on either a task force or do any other job that needs to be done with the outbreak of a global crisis.

“I haven’t been given any separation paperwork. I still have an active clearance. I could go back to the department tomorrow, either to backfill or staff a task force,” said one foreign service officer who asked for anonymity because they are still technically on the department’s payroll and are not authorized to speak to the press. “I will do the scutwork jobs.”

The department hasn’t responded to their offer but said in a statement that the task force is “fully staffed.”

Tau writes for the Associated Press.

The FCDO has issued numerous warnings and advice for British citizens planning to travel to, or already in, affected countries. The latest was issued earlier this afternoon and covers 31 countries

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has issued new travel advice for 31 countries amid the war in the Middle East.

Israeli and US strikes on Iran over the past three weeks triggered a response that has grounded thousands of flights, killed more than 2,000 people and caused flight paths and ship routes to be shut down.

The FCDO has issued numerous warnings and advice for British citizens planning to travel to, or already in, affected countries. The latest was issued earlier this afternoon and covers 31 countries.

“Escalation in the Middle East has caused widespread travel disruption, including airspace closures, delayed and cancelled flights. Your travel plans may be affected, even if your destination is not in the Middle East,” the advice reads.

READ MORE: Trump’s £150bn war bill as Iran gamble sends petrol prices soaring with taxpayers fumingREAD MORE: Keir Starmer holds emergency Cobra as he condemns Iranian strikes on energy plants

The FCDO advises that before travelling, UK passport holders:

• check travel advice for any countries or territories you are transiting through
• check for the latest updates from your airline or tour operator before travelling
• review your travel insurance policy for coverage before you travel
• monitor local and international media for the latest information and sign up for travel advice email alerts

Countries with updated advice

1. Singapore
2. Vietnam
3. Phillipinnes
4. Tuvalu
5. Laos
6. Thailand
7. Uzbekistan
8. New Zealand
9. Bangladesh
10. Australia
11. Indonesia
12. Brunei
13. Japan
14. Georgia
15. Tajikistan
16. Nepal
17. Maldives
18. Fiji
19. Malaysia
20. India
21. Papa New Guinea
22. Cambodia
23. South Korea
24. Samoa
25. Solomon
26. Tonga
27. Nauru
28. Vanutu
29. Marshall Islands
30. Kiribati
31. Sri Lanka

More than 1,300 people in Iran have been killed during the war. Israeli strikes against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon have displaced more than 1 million people — roughly 20% of the population — according to the Lebanese government, which says more than 1,000 people have been killed. Israel says it has killed more than 500 Hezbollah militants.

In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire. Four people were also killed in the occupied West Bank overnight by an Iranian missile strike, according to officials. At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed.

Iran announced the execution of three men detained in January’s nationwide protests, the first such sentences known to have been carried out, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency reported.

Today, three weeks since the war began, Iran intensified its attacks on oil and natural gas facilities around the Gulf.

The strikes, in retaliation for an Israeli attack on a key Iranian gas field, sent fuel prices soaring and risked drawing Iran’s Arab neighbors directly into the conflict. Tehran’s targeting of energy production further stressed global supplies already under pressure because of Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported.

Since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28, Iran’s top leaders have been killed in airstrikes and the country’s military capabilities have been severely degraded. Still, Iran — now led by the son of the supreme leader killed in the war’s opening salvo — remains capable of missile and drone attacks rattling its Gulf Arab neighbors and a global economy dependent on the energy they produce.

South Korea and Japan are facing uncomfortable questions about their mutual defensive obligations as the United States seeks support from its allies in the war on Iran, now nearly three weeks in and escalating by the day.

Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump urged the United Kingdom, China, France, Japan, and South Korea to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz, which has remained de facto closed since Washington launched its war with ally Israel on Tehran on March 28.

The president backpedalled on his position on Tuesday – declaring on social media that “we no longer ‘need,’ or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance – WE NEVER DID! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea” – but observers say US allies may not yet be out of the hot seat.

Trump is expected to raise the issue of warships when he meets with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the White House on Thursday, according to Al Jazeera correspondent Jack Barton.

“People do expect him to put pressure on Takaichi again to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz. It makes sense in a way because Japan is so dependent on energy supplies” from the Middle East, Barton said on Thursday from Seoul.

Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force is one of the largest and most advanced navies in the world, he said, which makes it an attractive target for the Trump Administration.

Although Japan and the US share a mutual defence, Tokyo’s pacifist constitution places restrictions on when it can deploy its Self-Defense Force. Legal scenarios include when it is attacked or facing a “survival-threatening” scenario, as well as acting in “collective self-defence” of its allies.

Takaichi told legislators this week that her government is considering what can legally be done to protect Japanese ships and interests, according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK World, although deployment is still a hypothetical scenario.

Japan relies heavily on Middle Eastern oil imports, of which 70 percent pass through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Japanese media. Tokyo began releasing oil from its strategic reserve on Monday to make up for the shortfall.

Stephen Nagy, a professor at the International Christian University, Tokyo, told Al Jazeera it was not unexpected that the US – a treaty ally – would call on it for help, but Japan will need to consider what is expected.

“The question is if they are going to be on the front line of the attack from Iran or if they are going to provide some kind of supporting role, such as anti-mining activities, refuelling missions, maritime domain awareness,” he said.

“It’s not so much of a problem going there and being involved in the challenges associated with the Hormuz Strait; what is more important is what exactly they are going to do in that role. I think the Japanese are going to find a way to legally add value to the Trump administration, but don’t expect warships there fighting Iranian proxies,” he continued.

South Korea finds itself in a similar predicament as it is both a US treaty ally and a country that is heavily dependent on Middle Eastern oil and gas exports.

Seoul last week took the extraordinary measure of imposing a price cap on domestic fuel prices for the first time since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, to keep prices from rising too quickly for consumers. Despite their concerns, legislators continue to urge caution from the government in deploying its navy or military assets to the Middle East, according to Al Jazeera’s Barton.

In-Bum Chun, a retired South Korean lieutenant general, told Al Jazeera that it is not immediately clear whether Seoul’s Mutual Defense Treaty with the US applies to the Strait of Hormuz.

Seoul must also weigh helping the US against maintaining a credible deterrence against North Korea. Recent media reports suggest that the US is considering moving some of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missiles from South Korea to the Middle East. The missiles were installed to deter North Korea, and their removal, along with naval assets, could make voters nervous.

“Seoul must also consider the persistent threat from North Korea and the fact that a South Korean warship is already deployed to the Middle East,” Chun told Al Jazeera. “At the same time, because about 70 percent of Korea’s oil imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz, freedom of navigation is not an abstract principle but a core national interest. These competing realities must all be weighed before any final decision is reached.”

In a follow-up to our recent story about a pair of U.S. Navy Independence class Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) configured for minesweeping appearing in the Pacific, those vessels have now moved further east from Malaysia to Singapore. USS Tulsa and USS Santa Barbara remain thousands of miles away from their primary assigned operating area in the Middle East, where the conflict with Iran grinds on. The highly strategic Strait of Hormuz notably remains closed to normal maritime commerce due to Iranian attacks. Though the regime in Tehran does not yet appear to have employed naval mines to a large degree in the Strait, this remains a major threat that will factor into any plans to reopen the critical waterway.

As to why the Navy sent two of its three mine hunters in the Middle East not just out of the line of fire, but literally across the globe at a time when the U.S. and its allies could be facing the mining of one of the world’s most critical waterways remains a mystery.

U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) has confirmed to TWZ that USS Tulsa and USS Santa Barbara are in Singapore. Last year, the Navy sent Tulsa and Santa Barbara, as well as a third Independence class LCS, the USS Canberra, to Manama in Bahrain in the Persian Gulf. Canberra‘s current location remains unclear. All three ships were explicitly sent to the Middle East to fill capability and capacity gaps left by the decommissioning of four Avenger class mine-hunters that had been deployed in the region for decades beforehand.

Local spotters had already caught the two LCSs arriving in Singapore earlier today. Authorities in Malaysia had previously confirmed that the LCSs had left the Port of Penang in that country on March 16. Singapore is a city-state that lies roughly 370 miles southeast of Penang.

“Tulsa and Santa Barbara are conducting scheduled maintenance and logistics stop in Singapore. The U.S. and Singapore navies have an excellent and longstanding defense relationship,” a NAVCENT spokesperson told TWZ. “A testament to this relationship is the agreement to allow littoral combat ships to operate primarily from Singapore as a logistics and maintenance hub, as well as supporting regular port visits and logistics stops for other U.S. ships.”

NAVCENT had given TWZ an almost identical statement when asked previously about the arrival of the LCSs in Malaysia:

“Tulsa and Santa Barbara are conducting brief logistical stops in Malaysia. U.S. forces routinely make port calls in Malaysia as part of our operations, reflecting the close and enduring military cooperation between the United States and Malaysia.”

“These stops allow for logistical arrangements such as replenishments,” Malaysian Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin separately told the New Strait Times newspaper yesterday. “Any foreign naval vessel must submit a request through its country to the Royal Malaysian Navy, which forwards it to the Foreign Ministry for approval.”

When Tulsa and Santa Barbara left the Middle East, to begin with, is unclear. There is no evidence of any U.S. warships having been in port in Bahrain since at least February 23, five days before joint U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran began. Manama was almost immediately subjected to retaliatory attacks, making clear that sending American vessels elsewhere was, broadly speaking, a prudent security measure.

How long Tulsa and Santa Barbara will remain in Singapore, and where they might head to next, remains to be seen. As NAVCENT’s statement noted, Singapore’s Changi Naval Base has been a hub for forward-deployed LCSs in the Indo-Pacific region. U.S. naval vessels, in general, regularly make port calls there, including for maintenance.

As an aside, online ship tracking data indicates that the America class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli and the San Antonio class amphibious warfare ship USS New Orleans are also now sailing through the same general area. The Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) is reportedly on its way to the Middle East, loaded with Marines, as you can read more about here.

Regardless of where they might head next, Tulsa and Santa Barbara have now moved even further away from their assigned station in the Middle East. This, in turn, means that two of three mine countermeasures ships that are supposed to be forward-deployed in that region, at least, are currently in an entirely different part of the world. Whether any other LCS or other ships configured for the mine countermeasures mission have been deployed closer to the Middle East, or are now on their way, is unknown. There are only four other Avenger class ships still in Navy service, all of which are in Japan and have been slated for decommissioning in the coming years.

Generally speaking, the Independence class LCS is a far more advanced ship, overall, than the Avenger class mine hunter. When suitably equipped, the LCSs also offer new standoff mine countermeasures capabilities, including uncrewed mine-sweeping drone boats and helicopter-borne systems. It should be noted that the Navy had originally planned for both Independence and Freedom class LCSs to be readily configured and reconfigured for different operational needs using an array of different mission packages, or ‘modules.’ The service now deploys LCSs in static configurations.

Still, questions continue to be raised whether LCSs fitted out for the mine countermeasures role are adequate replacements for ships purpose-built for this mission set, as you can read about in much more detail in our past reporting. Mine-clearing operations are complex and slow-going affairs that carry significant risks even in optimal conditions in benign environments.

As noted, Iranian naval mines have yet to make a major appearance in the current conflict. U.S. officials have largely downplayed the mine threat, especially when compared to the active ongoing attacks Iran has been launching on commercial ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz using drones, missiles, and uncrewed boats.

That being said, “we defend all these countries and then, ‘do you have any minesweepers?’ And they say, ‘Well, would it be possible for us not to get involved?’” U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier this week in response to a question from a reporter about the current conflict with Iran. This suggested that American officials had at least asked allies and partners about the possibility of them providing additional naval mine countermeasures capabilities to the region. If so, this is somewhat puzzling, coming as the Navy had sent the two LCSs to another hemisphere.

Trump had previously appealed publicly for assistance, in general, in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, but had been soundly rejected by a number of countries. The President then said yesterday that any help was no longer required.

“I wonder what would happen if we ‘finished off’ what’s left of the Iranian Terror State, and let the Countries that use it, we don’t, be responsible for the so called ‘Straight?’ [sic],” Trump then wrote just earlier today in a post on his Truth Social site. “That would get some of our non-responsive ‘Allies’ in gear, and fast!!!”

In an interview last Thursday with CNBC, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright had said the prospect of U.S. Navy warships escorting commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz was still weeks away, at best. TWZ previously explored how risky such an operation would be, given Iran’s ability to turn the waterway into a super weapons engagement zone where mines would be just one of many concerns.

The fact that USS Tulsa and USS Santa Barbara have moved even further from the Middle East only underscores questions about what the U.S. government’s line of thinking might be now about how to get maritime commerce flowing again in and out of the Persian Gulf.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. — President Trump is set to pay his respects on Wednesday at a Delaware military base when the remains of six U.S. service members killed in the crash of a refueling aircraft are returned to their families.

It will be the second time since launching the war with Iran on Feb. 28 that the Republican president will attend the solemn military ritual known as a dignified transfer, which he once described as the “toughest thing” he has had to do as commander in chief.

All six crew members of a KC-135 Air Force refueling aircraft were killed last week in a plane crash over friendly territory in western Iraq while supporting operations against Iran. They were from Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Washington state.

“Every person on that aircraft carried a weight most Americans will never see, and they carried it with professionalism, courage, and a level of quiet excellence that deserves to be recognized,” retired Lt. Col Ernesto Nisperos, a friend of one of those killed, said in a text message Wednesday.

The crash brought the U.S. death toll in Operation Epic Fury to at least 13 service members. About 200 U.S. service members have been injured, including 10 severely, the Pentagon has said.

Trump last traveled to Dover Air Force Base on March 7 for the dignified transfer of six U.S. service members who were killed by a drone strike at a command center in Kuwait. He saluted as flag-draped transfer cases containing the remains of the fallen service members were carried from military aircraft to vehicles waiting to take them to the base’s mortuary facility to prepare them for their final resting place.

“It’s the bad part of war,” he told reporters afterward. Asked then if he worried about having to make multiple trips to the base for additional dignified transfers as the war continued, he said, “I’m sure. I hate to do it, but it’s a part of war, isn’t it?”

U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, said that the crash followed an unspecified incident involving two aircraft in “friendly airspace” over Iraq but that the loss of the aircraft during a combat mission was “not due to hostile or friendly fire.” The circumstances were under investigation. The other plane landed safely.

The crash killed three people assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida: Maj. John A. “Alex” Klinner, 33, who served in Birmingham, Ala.; Capt. Ariana Linse Savino, 31, of Covington, Wash.; and Tech. Sgt. Ashley Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Ky.

Klinner, who left behind a wife, a 2-year-old son and 7-month-old twins, was known for his steady command and goofy nature, as well as a willingness to help others. Pruitt’s husband described her as a “radiant” woman who lit up the room. Savino was a friend, mentee and “source of positive energy” who was proud of her Puerto Rican heritage and inspired young Latinas, said Nisperos, who is serving as spokesman for her family.

“She had had this warmth that made you feel seen, a strength that showed up in everything she touched, and a spark — that spice — that made her unforgettable,” Nisperos said. “If you knew her, even for a moment, you knew you were in the presence of someone who was going to change the world.”

The three others were assigned to the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus, Ohio: Capt. Seth Koval, 38, a resident of Stoutsville, Ohio, who was from Mooresville, Ind.; Capt. Curtis Angst, 30, who lived in Columbus; and Master Sgt. Tyler Simmons, 28, of Columbus.

Koval grew up dreaming of becoming a pilot, according to his wife, who described him as a loving, generous “fixer of all things.” Angst’s family said his life was defined by service, generosity and “a genuine love for people.” Simmons loved confiding in his 85-year-old grandmother and working out with her, Sen. Jon Husted said Tuesday, when he and Sen. Bernie Moreno honored the Ohio airmen on the Senate floor.

“To the mom and dad of these three young soldiers, I can’t even process what you’re going through. I can’t even imagine the emotions that you’re feeling,” Moreno said. “Just know that America is grateful beyond words for the sacrifice that your heroic young sons made.”

Superville writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Holly Ramer in Concord, N.H., and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this report.

A group of at least five carrier-capable U.S. Navy E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning and control planes arrived overnight in the Azores after crossing much of the Atlantic. The Azores is a common stopover point for U.S. military aircraft heading to the Middle East. The move is somewhat rare for the E-2 community, but it’s extremely logical, and likely highly urgent, considering what is going on in the Middle East.

In many respects, the E-2D is the most sensitive airborne ‘look-down’ radar platform in U.S. military service today. As far as we know, the only E-2Ds in the Middle East right now are supporting air wing operations of the USS Gerald R. Ford and USS Abraham Lincoln. Rushing more of them to the Persian Gulf for land-based operations to help spot low-flying Iranian kamikaze drones wreaking havoc on Arab Gulf States would make total sense.

We have seen a similar request accepted by the Royal Australian Air Force, which is sending one of its highly capable E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft to the region for essentially the same purpose. Australia’s commitment is separate from current U.S.-Israeli operations. Both the E-2D and the E-7 aircraft can also spot low-flying cruise missiles, short-range ballistic missiles, and even maritime threats, making them ideal for the littoral operations against everything Iran is throwing at U.S. allies in the region. The Hawkeye and Wedgetail also offer additional battle management and networking capabilities, which U.S. forces engaged in operations against Iran are currently relying heavily on a strained fleet of aging E-3 Sentry jets to provide.

Pictures above and below show E-2Ds at Lajes on the island of Terceira in the Azores, a Portuguese archipelago, last night. Online flight tracking data had also shown the Hawkeyes heading there. We can also see that the Hawkeyes are upgraded versions capable of being refueled in flight, via a probe prominently mounted above the cockpit. In line with this, a pair of U.S. Air Force KC-46 Pegasus tankers had been tracked accompanying the Navy aircraft to Lajes, as well.

Previous tracking data shows the E-2Ds flew first from Norfolk, Virginia, to Bangor, Maine, last Friday. The Hawkeyes then departed Bangor yesterday, heading east across the Atlantic.

Markings visible in the pictures from Lajes show that at least some of the E-2Ds that touched down there are assigned to Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 121 (VAW-121) based at Naval Air Station Norfolk (NAS Norfolk). There had been indications earlier that the contingent included Hawkeyes from VAW-126, also based at NAS Norfolk, but this appears to be unconfirmed at this time. VAW-121 and VAW-126 are assigned to Carrier Air Wing 17 (CVW-17) and CVW-1, respectively. CVW-17 was notably most recently attached to the supercarrier USS Nimitz, which had been scheduled to be put into mothballs in May, but is now slated to remain in service at least until March 2027.

It remains to be seen where exactly the E-2Ds head to now, but, as noted, U.S. military aircraft regularly pass through the Azores while transiting to the Middle East. Lajes was heavily utilized during the massive build-up of American airpower ahead of the start of U.S.-Israeli strikes on February 28. The American component of this campaign has been dubbed Operation Epic Fury.

The conflict has taken on a regional character, with Iranian missiles and drones having now fallen on a dozen countries across the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean. There is also a distinct maritime dimension to the fighting, with Iran choking off the highly strategic Strait of Hormuz with attacks on commercial vessels, and discussions now about how to reopen that critical waterway.

A deployment of E-2Ds could help provide much-needed additional eyes in the sky, as well as other capabilities, to help protect against Iranian retaliatory attacks, as well as support strikes on targets in and around Iran and/or any efforts to establish sea control in the region. In particular, the Hawkeyes are America’s best available tool for spotting low-flying, low-signature targets, such as kamikaze drones and cruise missiles, as well as small targets at sea like explosive-laden drone boats. The E-2D is also well-suited to performing these missions in littoral areas like the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Strait of Hormuz in between. Hawkeyes performed similar missions in and around the Red Sea between late 2023 and early 2025.

As noted in the opening of this post, there is already an especially pronounced demand for additional assets, and more capable ones, to spot and track low-flying Iranian kamikaze drones and cruise missiles. This was already evidenced by the Australian government’s announcement last week that it was sending one of its E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft to the region to help with defensive operations, something we will come back to later on.

In addition, from what is known now, U.S. forces taking part in operations over and around Iran are receiving airborne early and warning control support from U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft forward-deployed at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. As noted, Navy Hawkeyes have also already been flying missions as part of Operation Epic Fury from the decks of carriers in the region.

Before the current conflict erupted, TWZ explored in detail the challenges and limitations that the aging E-3s face, including struggles just to keep the aircraft operational at all. On top of that, the total size of the Sentry fleet has dramatically shrunk in recent years, creating additional strain on the remaining jets, nearly 40 percent of which are now on the Arabian Peninsula. Based on available readiness data, this represents an even higher percentage of E-3s available for real-world mission tasking anywhere globally.

Just in terms of their radars, the E-2Ds with their active electronically scanned array (AESA) AN/APY-9s offer a major boost in capability over the older E-3s and their older passive electronically scanned array (PESA) types. In general, AESAs can scan faster, see farther, and produce more precise and otherwise higher fidelity tracks, even when it comes to smaller objects and/or stealthy ones with reduced radar signatures, than older types of arrays. The APY-9, specifically, also benefits from “space-time adaptive processing” functionality that “suppresses clutter, jamming, and other sources of electromagnetic interference, focusing on the target,” according to the manufacturer Lockheed Martin.

As such, with the added benefit of being able to look down from a high perch, the E-2D offers a particularly powerful tool for spotting and tracking smaller, lower, and slower-flying threats, such as Iranian kamikaze drones and cruise missiles. This capability was optimized for overwater and littoral operations to protect the carrier strike group. In addition, the APY-9 has a surface search mode that can be used for maritime surveillance, which, as already mentioned, is also very relevant in the context of the current conflict. Overall, these talents would fit in perfectly with what’s happening in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

Unlike older E-2s, Hawkeyes with aerial refueling capability can also fly out to operating areas further away from wherever they are based and stay on station much longer.

In Navy service, the E-2D is far more than just its radar, too. The aircraft have an extensive communications and networking suite that is tied in directly to the service’s Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) and Naval Integrated Fire Control-Counter-Air (NIFC-CA) architectures.

CEC – Cooperative Engagement Capability

As part of these Navy-specific networks, the Hawkeyes are deeply integrated in ‘kill webs’ that include an array of air and sea assets in the service’s inventory. For many years now, the Navy has used the example of E-2s enabling ships to fire long-range SM-6 surface-to-air interceptors at targets beyond the reach of their organic radars and other sensors to explain the benefits of these networked capabilities. CEC and NIFC-CA also just allow commanders to have a more detailed and complete picture of the battlespace around them, including friendly assets and threats, and offer a valuable boost in general situational awareness.

It should also be noted that while Navy E-2s more often operate as part of carrier air wings, the service’s Hawkeyes flying from bases on land is not new. Between 1995 and 2017, the service even had an explicitly land-based E-2 unit, VAW-77, which supported counter-drug operations in the Caribbean from bases in the United States and in Latin America. The majority of non-U.S. E-2 operators, past and present, have also operated their Hawkeyes as land-based aircraft. At the same time, since it was primarily designed around carrier operations, the Hawkeye also has the ability to fly from shorter runways and with a smaller logistics footprint compared to many other airborne early warning and control platforms.

TWZ actually already covered much of this in detail back in 2024 after U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) released the video below, showing a Navy E-2D refueling from a U.S. Air Force HC-130J combat search and rescue aircraft somewhere in the region. At that time, we also explored how Hawkeyes could bring similar benefits to expeditionary and distributed operations elsewhere in the world, especially an island-hopping campaign in the Pacific, as you can read more about here.

It is also interesting to consider all of this now in the context of the Pentagon’s attempt last year to cancel the U.S. Air Force’s acquisition of new E-7s to replace a portion of its E-3s, and to fill interim capability gaps with additional E-2Ds instead. Questions about the Wedgetail’s survivability in a future high-end fight, such as one against China, as well as delays and cost overruns, were cited as key factors. Congress has since compelled the Air Force to proceed with the E-7A program as planned. Last Thursday, Boeing received two contract modifications, together valued at just over $2.4 billion, for an unspecified number of developmental Wedgetails, as well as materials related to the MESA sensor system.

There do continue to be some lingering questions about the future of the Air Force’s E-7 program. The service had resisted seeking any kind of direct replacement for the E-3 for years. The Air Force’s stated long-term goal remains to push most, if not all, of its airborne target warning sensor layer tasks into space, but this is still years away, at least, from becoming a reality.

As TWZ has explained in the past, while the E-2D is in many respects the most capable airborne early warning and control aircraft currently in U.S. inventory, the Wedgetail is arguably the most capable such aircraft anywhere globally at present. The jet-powered, Boeing 737-based, aerial refueling-capable Wedgetail with its large AESA Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) sensor, can fly higher, faster, and further than the turboprop Hawkeye.

Northrop Grumman MESA Radar – Boeing E-7 AEWC

The E-7 is also just bigger and can accommodate a larger crew, making it even more adaptable to expanded mission needs, such as battle management and acting as a networking node using its own expansive communications and data-sharing suite. Any survivability concerns that apply to the E-7 would apply just as much to the E-2, as well. As noted earlier, the benefits of the E-7, including in the current context of operations against Iran, are underscored by Australia’s decision to send one of its Wedgetails to the Middle East. That aircraft is explicitly being deployed to help defend the United Arab Emirates and other countries in the region that have been subjected to Iranian drone and missile attacks.

The group of Navy E-2Ds now heading east across the Atlantic only further calls into question the Pentagon’s puzzling move to axe the E-7 program, as well as the Air Force’s previous dragging of its feet in settling on any plan to replace the aging E-3s. That additional Hawkeyes only appear to be headed to the Middle East now is also another sign that the scale and scope of Iranian retaliation on Gulf Arab States was somehow not expected, despite repeated threats from the regime in Tehran in the lead-up and supporting intelligence assessments to the current conflict. For many years, U.S. intelligence thought it was likely Iran would lash out at U.S. allies in the region, especially those housing U.S. military capabilities. It was a glaring likelihood we have discussed for years in our own reporting.

Regardless, additional Hawkeyes would provide a massive and very much-needed boost in aerial surveillance capability and capacity, as well as other benefits, to help defend against Iranian retaliatory attacks and otherwise support still-expanding U.S. operations against that country.

Special thanks to user @Azorean_Lion on X for sharing the pictures of the E-2D Hawkeyes at Lajes with us.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

The U.S. Navy Independence class Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) USS Tulsa and USS Santa Barbara, which are configured for minesweeping duties, have appeared in port in Malaysia. Both of these ships were last known to be forward-deployed in the Middle East, having arrived in Bahrain in the past year or so to take the place of a group of now-decommissioned Avenger class mine hunters. Now, as Iranian attacks on commercial ships have caused a virtual halt to maritime traffic through the highly strategic Strait of Hormuz, these ships have emerged thousands of miles away. The extent to which Iran has seeded naval mines in the Strait already is unclear, but this remains a huge threat to the future security of the waterway and will have to be taken into account in any future effort to reopen this critical waterway.

A spotter in Malaysia posted pictures of the USS Tulsa and USS Santa Barbara, which are said to have been taken today at the North Butterworth Container Terminal (NBCT) in the Port of Penang. Mike Yeo, an Australia-based defense and aviation reporter, was among the first to call attention to the particular significance of the images. TWZ has reached out for more information.

USS Tulsa and USS Santa Barbara are among a select number of Independence class LCSs fitted with a mine countermeasures mission package, or “module.” In its current form, the package includes towed mine-hunting sonar for the ships, Common Unmanned Surface Vehicles (CUSV) with mine-sweeping gear, and mine detection and neutralization systems carried by embarked MH-60 Sea Hawk helicopters. We will come back to this configuration later on.

CUSV®

Airborne Laser Mine Detection System (ALMDS) Video

When it comes to why the ships are now in Malaysia, TWZ also reached out to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which directed us to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet. We were then directed by Fifth Fleet back to CENTCOM. CENTCOM is the top U.S. military command for operations in the Middle East. Fifth Fleet is the Navy’s numbered fleet in the Middle East, with its commander dual-hatted as head of Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT). Fifth Fleet and NAVCENT are headquartered in Manama, Bahrain, in the Persian Gulf.

We have reached out to the U.S. Navy and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), as well.

Pictures available through the U.S. military’s Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) show USS Tulsa was in port in Bahrain at least as of February 9. Separate images also show USS Santa Barbara operating in the Persian Gulf on January 30. The current disposition of a third Independence class LCS, the USS Canberra, which had also been forward-deployed in the Middle East at least as of January, is unknown. Whether any other mine countermeasures ships may not be headed to the Middle East is also not known.

A review of satellite imagery in Planet Labs’ commercial archive shows no evidence of any U.S. warships being in port in Mamana since February 23. The United States and Israel launched their joint operation against Iran on February 28.

Moving U.S. warships out of port in Bahrain ahead of the current conflict was a prudent security measure. The Gulf state is well within range of Iranian missiles and long-range kamikaze drones, and U.S. military facilities in Manama did subsequently come under attack. The U.S. military’s own strikes on Iranian naval vessels in port have underscored the vulnerability of ships sitting pierside.

Why the decision was made to then send the USS Tulsa and USS Santa Barbara thousands of miles to the east is unknown. A host of factors may have come into play, including the availability of suitable friendly ports and diplomatic considerations.

Regardless, at least two-thirds of the warships intended to be available for tasking for mine countermeasures missions in the Middle East are presently in a completely different part of the world. As noted, USS Tulsa, USS Santa Barbara, and USS Canberra, were forward-deployed to the region in the first place explicitly to fill gaps left by the decommissioning of four Avenger class mine hunters last year. The former USS Devastator, USS Dextrous, USS Gladiator, and USS Sentry left the region for good aboard a heavy lift ship in January. There are only four Avenger class ships left in active Navy service, all of which are forward-deployed in Japan, and are also slated to be decommissioned in the coming years.

How many of the Navy’s Independence class LCSs, in total, have been configured for the mine-clearing mission to date is unknown. In addition to USS Tulsa, USS Santa Barbara, and the USS Canberra, the USS Kansas City was at least being fitted out with this mission module as of last year.

The Independence class LCS is a far more advanced ship than the Avenger class mine hunter, and does offer new standoff mine countermeasures capabilities, including aforementioned CUSV drone boats and helicopter-borne systems. Still, questions continue to be raised about whether metal-hulled LCSs with mine countermeasures packages are adequate replacements for ships purpose-built for this mission. As TWZ previously wrote back in January:

The [Avenger class] ships themselves have fiberglass-coated wooden hulls to reduce their own vulnerability, particularly to mines that detect targets by their magnetic signature.

The Navy has long intended to replace the Avenger class ships with LCSs configured for the mine countermeasures duties. However, delays with the LCS mine countermeasures and other mission packages, or “modules,” as well as other persistent issues with both subclasses of those ships, repeatedly delayed those plans. The LCS program had also originally envisioned it being possible to readily reconfigure the ships for different mission sets by swapping out modules. However, the Navy is now deploying LCSs in largely fixed configurations.

…

Questions and criticism about the suitability of metal-hulled LCSs to take on the mine countermeasures mission have come up in the past. Both subclasses of LCS are also much larger than the Avenger class design, which could impose limits on how close they can get to mined or potentially mined areas. LCSs are better able to defend themselves against other threats than the Avengers, but they still have relatively limited firepower, which has been a separate source of criticism for years now. There would still be a significant need for tertiary support to protect LCSs during mine-clearing operations, which are slow and complex, and carry significant risks, even in benign environments.

In May 2025, a top U.S. Navy mine warfare officer gave an unclassified briefing detailing significant ongoing issues with the LCS mine countermeasures, according to a story published just this past week by Hunterbrook Media. Copies of the briefing slides that the outlet published say that employing the CUSV requires hours of prep time, and that the drone boat’s sonar sometimes has trouble spotting threats, but that the operators may have no indication of this until data is assessed after a mission. Visual confirmation of mines using the AN/AQS-20 mine-hunting system has also proven challenging “even [in] the relatively benign turbidity of SoCal [Southern California] waters,” another slide explains. The briefing also highlighted a number of potential “single-point failures” both in terms of mine countermeasures systems included in the module, and the equipment required to deploy and recover them.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, one of the briefing slides noted that “LCS was designed as a multi-mission platform” and “all of these other missions reduce time for the ship and Minemen to gain proficiency in MCM [mine countermeasures].” To reiterate, the Avenger class ships were purpose-built for this mission set and had crews trained to match. Mine-clearing operations are slow and complex, and carry significant risks, even when carried out by experienced personnel in benign environments.

In the context of the current conflict, there have been reports in the past week or so saying Iran has at least attempted to lay mines in and around the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. military also says it has been actively targeting mine-laying assets. At the same time, Iran has laid mines in and around the Persian Gulf in the past, and this remains a real point of concern. Iranian anti-ship cruise and ballistic missiles, kamikaze drones, and uncrewed explosive-laden boats further complicate the threat picture for commercial vessels and any warships attempting to help clear the way.

Ukraine’s leader previously said advisers were sent to Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia to help thwart Iranian drone attacks.

Ukraine wants money and technology as payback after sending specialists to the Middle East to help down Iranian drones during the ongoing Israel-United States war with Iran.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters on Sunday that three teams were sent to the region to undertake expert assessments and demonstrate how drone defences work as countries in the Middle East continue to be targeted by Iran over hosting US military bases.

“This is not about being involved in operations. We are not at war with Iran,” Zelenskyy said.

Earlier this week, Ukraine’s leader announced military teams were sent to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and a US military base in Jordan.

But he explained that more long-term drone deals could be negotiated with Gulf countries, and what Kyiv gets in return for its assistance still needs to be established.

“For us today, both the technology and the funding are important,” Zelenskyy said.

Throughout the four-year Russia-Ukraine war, Moscow has widely used Iranian Shahed-136 “suicide” drones, giving Kyiv expertise in knowing how to down the unmanned aerial vehicles through cheap drone interceptors, electronic jamming tools, and anti-aircraft weaponry.

However, US President Donald Trump has said he does not need Ukraine’s help in taking down Iranian drones attacking American targets.

‘Rules must be tightened’

Zelenskyy said he doesn’t know why Washington hasn’t signed a drone agreement with Kyiv, which it has pushed for months.

“I wanted to sign a deal worth about $35bn–50bn,” he said.

Still, as the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues with no end in sight, Zelenskyy raised concerns that the ongoing war in the Middle East will impact Kyiv’s supplies of air defence missiles.

“We would very much not like the United States to step away from the issue of Ukraine because of the Middle East,” he told reporters.

But as interest has grown for Ukrainian drone interceptors in light of the war, Zelenskyy said Kyiv’s rules to buy the drones must be tightened, with foreign countries and firms being unable to bypass the government and talk directly to manufacturers.

“Unfortunately, representatives of certain governments or companies want to bypass the Ukrainian state to purchase specific equipment,” Zelensky told reporters.

“Even in some free countries, we do not initially receive contracts from the private sector. A contract comes to me through the political channel. Only then does the private sector start negotiating with us.”

BBC Sport has contacted the Argentine FA for comment.

Uefa said: “Argentina made a counter suggestion to play the game after the World Cup but, as Spain has no available dates, that option had to be ruled out.”

The Spanish FA said, external it had “worked intensively” to get the game on in any format possible, whether in Spain or at a neutral venue.

It said: “Spain was prepared to play as it has always been stated. They set no conditions.

“Spain, together with Uefa, has offered all possibilities.”

On Saturday the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Formula 1 Grands Prix due to be held in April were cancelled.

Formula 1 said it is not safe to stage the races because of the conflict across the region.

The Finalissima, which is staged every four years and is organised by Uefa and the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol), was last won by Argentina at Wembley in 2022.

The Qatar GP, scheduled for April 10-12, has been rescheduled for November 8 amid the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran.

The Qatar Grand ⁠Prix ⁠that was scheduled to be held next month has ⁠been postponed due to the ongoing conflict ⁠in the Middle East, the sport’s governing body announced.

“MotoGP confirms that the Qatar Grand Prix, originally ⁠scheduled for April, has been ⁠postponed to November ⁠8 due to the ongoing geopolitical situation in the Middle East,” ‌MotoGP said on Sunday.

The Lusail International Circuit was set ‌to host the fourth round of the 2026 championship from April 10-12 but it has now been rescheduled for ⁠November 8, organisers said ⁠in a statement.

“Following extensive ⁠scenario planning and calendar analysis, the ⁠revised date has been chosen to ensure minimal disruption to the wider MotoGP schedule.”

The Portuguese Grand Prix will now take place on November ⁠22 and the season finale in Valencia will move to November 29, ⁠organisers added.

Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi leads the ⁠championship after the first round in Thailand. The next two races will be held in Brazil (March 20-22) and the United States (March 27-29).

Earlier on Sunday, Formula One and its governing body, FIA, said the Grands Prix races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia will not happen in April due to safety concerns related to the Iran war.

Both countries have been hit during Iran’s retaliatory attacks after the United States and Israel launched a wave of strikes on Iran.

The announcement was made in Shanghai ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix.

“Due to the ongoing situation in the Middle East region, the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix will not take place in April,” F1 said. “While several alternatives were considered, it was ultimately decided that no substitutions will be made in April.”

F1 was due to race in Bahrain on April 12 and in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah on April 19.

“While this was a difficult decision to take, it is unfortunately the right one at this stage considering the current situation in the Middle East,” said Stefano Domenicali, president and CEO of F1.

“The FIA will always place the safety and well being of our community and colleagues first. After careful consideration, we have taken this decision with that responsibility firmly in mind,” FIA’s president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, said.

The FIA did not explicitly rule out rescheduling the races and, along with F1, did not use the words “cancel” or “postpone” in announcing that the series would not be in Bahrain or Saudi Arabia next month.

In a blow to Brits planning to get away for summer 2026, experts have revealed that the situation in the Middle East could cause holiday prices to rise, even in destinations not affected by the conflict

Brits planning to get away overseas for Easter or summer this year are being warned they may need to expand their budget, as holiday prices could rise across all destinations.

Hannah Mayfield, a qualified financial advisor, has explained that the situation in the Middle East could have a “knock-on effect” on prices, following similar patterns seen during times of instability. Even those who opt for a UK-based staycation, or visit countries nowhere near the Middle East, could see higher prices for flights, accommodation, and even everyday spending.

Hannah explained: “Rising tensions in the Middle East can have a knock-on effect on holiday costs, even if you’re travelling somewhere completely different. But this isn’t a new phenomenon. We’ve seen similar patterns during previous periods of geopolitical instability, where travellers change their plans and demand shifts toward destinations perceived as safer.”

Hannah, who is working with travel insurers PayingTooMuch, gave the reasons why flight prices could rise: “Airlines can face higher operating costs during periods of geopolitical instability. If flights need to avoid certain airspaces, routes can become longer. At the same time, global oil prices usually rise during conflicts in major energy-producing regions, and that can eventually feed through into the price for fuel. For travellers, that might mean more expensive plane tickets.”

And it’s not just overseas jaunts that could become more expensive. Hannah said: “There’s also the potential impact on taking holidays, especially to destinations closer to home. If some holidaymakers decide not to travel as far afield, demand for popular destinations such as coastal towns, national parks and major cities can increase.

“When that happens, accommodation prices often rise during peak periods, particularly if availability is limited.” This could mean that, like during Covid, staycations could become pricier.

If you’re planning a trip, even to ‘safe’ destinations, you Hannah advises: “When travel feels more uncertain making sure you have the right level of cover for your trip becomes even more important, so you are less likely to face unexpected costs. Booking early, staying flexible with travel dates, comparing travel insurance policies and prices for flights can make a noticeable difference to the overall cost of a trip.”

She also had this warning: “Most standard travel insurance policies don’t cover acts of war, so conflicts itself may not typically have a direct impact on premiums. However, travellers should always check their policy details carefully, so they understand exactly what is and isn’t covered.

“Consider getting a policy that offers additional cover for travel disruptions which can offer another layer of protection in situations where official government travel advice changes and costs can’t be recovered elsewhere. It’s also worth noting that travel insurance does not cover events that are already known at the time the policy is purchased.”

Hannah, who also runs What is Wealth, which offers financial education for women, also gave some additional money saving tips for holidaymakers: “Keeping an eye on exchange rates and fuel prices can also help holidaymakers budget more accurately and avoid unexpected costs closer to their trip.”

Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com

The Pentagon is reportedly moving a Marine Expeditionary Unit and additional warships to the Middle East, as the war with Iran continues. The move, reported by The Wall Street Journal, will help respond to the Iranian campaign of attacks against shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. So far, Tehran has remained committed to its pledge of paralyzing oil tanker traffic through the strategic waterway.

The WSJ reports that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has approved a request from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) for an element of an Amphibious Ready Group and attached Marine Expeditionary Unit, citing three U.S. officials. An Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) typically includes an assault ship, two transport docks, and a support vessel that carries an embarked Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) of at least 2,200 Marines.

Two of those officials said that the ARG would be centered around the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli, said to be now headed for the Middle East from its normal base in Japan.

It’s possible other Amphibious Ready Groups could also deploy to the Middle East, if called upon.

A Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) is a highly versatile, self-sustained, rapid-response force. Embarked aboard amphibious assault and landing ships, each MEU has fully integrated air, ground, and logistics components. Its four key elements are as follows:

Command Element: Serves as the headquarters for the entire unit and allows a single command to exercise control over all ground, aviation, and combat service support forces.

Ground Combat Element: Provides the MEU with its main combat punch. Built around a Marine infantry battalion, and reinforced with artillery, amphibious vehicles, engineers, and reconnaissance assets.

Aviation Combat Element: The ACE consists of a composite medium helicopter squadron containing transport helicopters of various models and capabilities, attack helicopters and jets, air defense teams, and all necessary ground support assets.

Logistics Combat Element: Providing the MEU with mission-essential support such as medical assistance, motor transport, supply, equipment maintenance, and landing.

A MEU would bring a wide range of capabilities to the fight. This can include additional aircraft to strike targets inland, including F-35Bs, and to execute sea control missions, going after Iranian small boats for instance. The latter can be done by embarked AH-1Z and UH-1Y helicopters, as well as F-35Bs. Then there is the assault component, with the ability to airlift Marines anywhere within the reach of its rotary wing component, which also includes MV-22s and CH-53s. The Aviation Combat Element can be tailored to the mission. This can include loading the deck with F-35s or putting a much higher priority on air assault capabilities. The USS Tripoli, which is aviation-focused and lacks a well deck, is specifically built for this kind of augmented air combat element, including being turned into a F-35 “Lightning Carrier.” You can read all about this here.

The MEU can also support beach landing and heavy surface logistical support. The Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) that makes up the entire flotilla also includes surface combatant escorts that can lend their Aegis capabilities to the fight and launch Tomahawks on demand.

While the carrier strike groups get the most attention for their ability to hit hard from a distance, the MEU/ESG is truly America’s most versatile maritime capability.

In other news, in his latest update on the war on Iran, Secretary Hegseth claims that Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has been “wounded and likely disfigured” in the ongoing U.S.-Israeli attacks. The defense secretary also pushed back on claims that Iran has begun mining the Strait of Hormuz as it continues its campaign against international shipping in the strategic chokepoint.

In a press conference today, the defense secretary said, “We know the new so-called not-so-supreme leader is wounded and likely disfigured. He put out a statement yesterday — a weak one, actually — but there was no voice, and there was no video. It was a written statement.”

As to why a written statement was issued, and Mojtaba Khamenei didn’t appear in person, Hegseth added: “I think you know why.”

Hegseth also promised that today will see the highest number of U.S. strikes so far against Iranian targets.

“Their production lines, their military plants, their defense innovation centers; defeated,” Hegseth claimed. “Iran’s leadership is in no better shape. Desperate and hiding, they’ve gone underground, cowering — that’s what rats do.”

Hegseth said the Iranian regime will only see the stars and stripes of the United States and Israel’s star of David, which he describes as “their worst nightmare.”

The Iranian regime has been the number one threat to peace and stability in the Middle East for years. U.S. forces continue to take decisive steps to neutralize Iran’s power projection capabilities. pic.twitter.com/JOT7rRGH7L

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 13, 2026

In the Strait of Hormuz, Hegseth said that the U.S. military is “dealing with” Iran’s attacks on shipping, and that this is not something it needs to be worried about.

Hegseth dismissed suggestions that Iran has mined the strait, through which around a fifth of the world’s oil passes.

“We’ve heard them talk about it just like you’ve reported recklessly and wildly about it. But … we have no clear evidence of that,” he explained.

Hegseth says there is “no clear evidence” Iran has placed mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) March 13, 2026

Asked when the Strait of Hormuz might become operational again, Hegseth said: “The only thing prohibiting traffic in the strait at the moment is Iran shooting at shipping.” He said that the United States “has a plan for every option” and that it will not allow the strait to remain “contested.”

Hegseth: “The only thing prohibiting transit in [Hormuz] right now is Iran shooting at shipping.”

“It is open for transit should Iran not do that” pic.twitter.com/MZ4vx7NQnj

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) March 13, 2026

According to a report in The New York Times, at least 16 oil tankers, cargo vessels, and other commercial ships have been attacked in the Persian Gulf since the war against Iran began nearly two weeks ago.

Iran has claimed responsibility for several of the attacks. Hegseth also criticized as “bad reporting” the suggestion that Iran could launch a drone attack on California.

“There’s a lot of things Iran has said it could do for a long time, including engaging their proxies and getting them involved in the fight, which they haven’t been able to do. So, we’re watching that very closely,” he said.

Citing multiple sources familiar with the matter, CNN reports that the Pentagon and National Security Council “significantly underestimated” Iran’s willingness to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to U.S. military strikes while Operation Epic Fury was being planned.

“Top Trump officials acknowledged to lawmakers during recent classified briefings that they did not plan for the possibility of Iran closing the strait in response to strikes.”https://t.co/dgNukmCUA9

— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw) March 13, 2026

BREAKING: The Trump administration planned for missile retaliation, proxy attacks, and cyber operations. It did not plan for Iran to weaponize the most important energy chokepoint on Earth.

The Strait of Hormuz.

According to a CNN report on internal US discussions, senior… pic.twitter.com/TIFzXCZR9h

— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) March 13, 2026

The headline in the Hezbollah-linked Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar this morning reads: “Iran Activates the Hormuz Weapon. Going All the Way.”

הכותרת הבוקר של העיתון אל-אח’באר הלבנוני המזוהה עם חיזבאללה: “איראן מפעילה את נשק הורמוז. הולכים עד הסוף” pic.twitter.com/2xS9cuTTo7

— roi kais • روعي كايس • רועי קייס (@kaisos1987) March 13, 2026

SCOOP: President Trump told G7 leaders this week that Iran is “about to surrender.”

The Iranian regime has shown no signs of imminent surrender or collapse — and on Day 14 of the war, is moving to gain more leverage by choking off the Strait of Hormuz. https://t.co/qHzPkisGKe

— Axios (@axios) March 13, 2026

In an interview with Fox News, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the U.S. military planned on hitting Iran “very hard” over the next week. A similar comment was posted on Trump’s Truth Social today, in which he said: “Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today. They’ve been killing innocent people all over the world for 47 years, and now I, as the 47th President of the United States of America, am killing them,” he wrote. “What a great honor it is to do so!”

Gen. Dan Caine, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, today commented on the use of the new Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) short-range ballistic missile, which he confirmed saw its combat debut in the operation against Iran.

Caine said that the PrSM “reaching deep into enemy territory”. He said he spoke to one member of the crew of the system. “I asked him to walk me through a fire mission, not just what they do but what they feel,” he explained. “One of them just looked at me and said: ‘It’s awesome.’”

According to Caine, the U.S. military has hit 6,000 targets so far. In the process, Iran’s naval forces have been rendered “ineffective,” although Tehran still has the capability to harm “friendly forces” and commercial shipping.

This morning, another three U.S. Air Force B-52H bombers arrived at RAF Fairford in England. There are now six B-52s at the base, alongside 12 B-1B Lancers. Reports from the ground indicate that GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) equipped with BLU-109 2,000-lb bunker buster warheads continue to be prepared for strikes on Iran.

More B52 Stratofortress long range bombers have arrived at RAF Fairford. Three landed this morning. There are now six on the ground. They join a fleet of 12 B1 Lancers. Two B1 bombers took off this morning. Supplies of JDAM bunker busting bombs continue to be moved around the… pic.twitter.com/XxwfWSRKQD

— Richard Gaisford (@richardgaisford) March 13, 2026

Air defenses in the United Arab Emirates intercepted 27 drones and seven ballistic missiles today, the UAE defense ministry said. Since the start of the conflict, UAE air defenses have shot down 285 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles, and 1,567 drones heading toward their territory.

In Oman, two people were killed today after air defenses intercepted a drone over the Al Awahi industrial area, according to state media. The drone was one of two that were shot by air defences on Friday, but the second one did not cause any injuries.

The Israeli military has launched a new campaign across Iran, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said today.

The IDF said its most recent wave of strikes included targets in Tehran, Shiraz, and Ahvaz. The IDF had earlier issued evacuation warnings for parts of Tehran and Qazvin, northwest of the capital.

Iranian state TV today reported explosions heard across Tehran. 

It appears that at least some of the strikes on the capital may have been deliberately timed to coincide with large-scale demonstrations against Israel and the United States, which have also involved some key regime figures.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi:

Today is Quds Day in Iran, and despite the brutal attacks by the Zionist regime and the United States, millions of Iranians have taken to the streets in Tehran and other cities, demonstrating their strong will and determination.

The… pic.twitter.com/GvRkfZw1HT

— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 13, 2026

Another WOW, Iranian top regime official, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, the chief of judiciary, is also participating in a march in Tehran.

Amid Israeli strikes in the vicinity.

This guy is among a few people who actually run Iran. pic.twitter.com/FmsTkx85BI

— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) March 13, 2026

BREAKING: Huge marches and protests across Iran supporting the government while chanting “Death to Israel” and “Death to America”.

They really failed the regime change. pic.twitter.com/N1ttuazeqx

— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) March 13, 2026

Strikes reported in Tehran near the “Al-Quds Day” march. Iranian officials Ali Larijani and police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan attend the march pic.twitter.com/eZOxK5Da5p

— Faytuks Network (@FaytuksNetwork) March 13, 2026

BREAKING: A large explosion struck a square filled with demonstrators in Iran’s capital, Tehran, Iranian state television reported. The cause of the blast was not immediately known. Israel warned it could strike in the area just before the blast. https://t.co/YBy6NTDrj8

— The Associated Press (@AP) March 13, 2026

Funerals of eight Basijis militiamen were being held in southeastern neighborhood of Khavaran in Tehran today when a Israeli/Us drone struck – Hamshahri newspaper pic.twitter.com/hnJQ8DuIEh

— Fazel Hawramy (@FazelHawramy) March 13, 2026

Speaking yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reportedly said that one of the Israeli goals of the war is to create the conditions for regime change, rather than forcing it directly. Whether regime change is achieved depends on the Iranian people, Netanyahu reportedly asserted.

President Trump has also urged Iranians to take to the streets once the bombing stops, but has also acknowledged that it will be very difficult for them to overthrow the regime.

“I really think that’s a big hurdle to climb for people that don’t have weapons. I think it’s a very big hurdle… It’ll happen, but… maybe not immediately,” Trump told Fox News Radio.

Trump:

Iran’s regime will fall, “but maybe not immediately.”

— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 13, 2026

Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice added her thoughts on the matter of regime change, noting that this was always very hard to achieve from the air, “and it is also very hard to shape the politics afterwards from the air.”

Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice:

It’s very hard to change a regime from the air, and it is also very hard to shape the politics afterwards from the air. pic.twitter.com/YSKPmUVOC9

— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 13, 2026

Dubai has also been on the receiving end of Iranian attacks. There were reports of in Dubai, where videos posted to social media showed a large cloud of smoke over a central area of the financial hub. Authorities there confirmed a fire in an industrial area.

🚨🚨
دبي .. اندلاع النيران في أحد أبراج منطقة كريك هاربور عقب استهدافها بطائرة مسيّرة pic.twitter.com/sW9S6iEQ3E

— حمود أبو مسمار (@ThayirAljanub) March 12, 2026

Explosions rattled buildings in Dubai and a large cloud of smoke hung over a central area of the financial hub on Friday, AFP correspondents report.

Sirens could be heard coming from the direction of Sheikh Zayed Road, the United Arab Emirates city’s main artery pic.twitter.com/M945PQl7un

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 13, 2026

Israel continues fighting on a second front in Iran, with the latest targets including the Zrarieh Bridge spanning the Litani River.

The IDF says it struck a bridge on the Litani River that was being used by Hezbollah as a “key crossing” to move from northern to southern Lebanon.

The Zrarieh Bridge was struck a short while ago.

According to the military, Hezbollah used the bridge “to move from the north to… pic.twitter.com/7Fq8nvrt0H

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 13, 2026

Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz vowed today that the Lebanese government “will pay increasing costs through damage to infrastructure and loss of territory” until Hezbollah is disarmed. “This is only the beginning,” Katz said, according to a report from Reuters.

🎯STRUCK: Hezbollah’s infrastructure across southern Lebanon:

📍Beirut: Assets of the “Al-Quard Al-Hassan”” Association and other significant financial assets of Hezbollah were struck. The recent strikes against the association have effectively and completely disrupted its… pic.twitter.com/g6BRa5LHjD

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 13, 2026

NATO air and missile defence assets have shot down another Iranian missile fired into Turkish airspace, Turkey’s defense ministry confirmed today. “All necessary measures are being taken decisively and without hesitation against any threat directed at our country’s territory and airspace,” the ministry said in a statement.

Turkey’s Defense Ministry says “a ballistic munition launched from Iran and entering Turkish airspace” was intercepted by NATO air defenses in the Eastern Mediterranean. The statement does not explicitly mention the reported incident near Incirlik Air Base last night. https://t.co/KxSV3uNEwq

— Julia Hahn (@juliahahntv) March 13, 2026

The video below purports to show the Iranian ballistic missile over Incirlik Air Base in Turkey.

Another video showing what appears to be a ballistic missile, likely launched by Iran, in the sky tonight over NATO’s Incirlik Air Base, located near Adana, Turkey. pic.twitter.com/Tyb79Rg99Q

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 13, 2026

According to Jake Epstein of Business Insider, the Iranian ballistic missile was brought down by the Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Oscar Austin, using a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) anti-missile interceptor. This is said to be the third time in the last two weeks that a U.S. Navy destroyer has used SM-3s to intercept an Iranian missile in Turkish airspace. SM-3 series interceptors are capable of engaging ballistic missiles outside of the Earth’s atmosphere during the mid-course portion of their flight.

New: A defense official tells me the USS Oscar Austin launched an SM-3 interceptor to shoot down the Iranian ballistic missile.

It’s a third time in the last two weeks that a US Navy destroyer in the Eastern Med has used SM-3s to intercept an Iranian missile in Turkish airspace. https://t.co/gHxjdyLirZ

— Jake Epstein (@byjepstein) March 13, 2026

French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed the first French military death of the war. He said that said a French soldier had been killed in an attack in Erbil in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region. Several other soldiers were wounded, he said. French Army soldiers had been engaged in training with Iraqi partners during the drone attack in the region.

Je m’incline devant la mémoire de l’adjudant-chef Arnaud Frion, mort pour la France cette nuit, lors d’une attaque dans la région d’Erbil, en Irak.
⁰Belle figure de soldat et de chef, il incarnait les plus hautes vertus d’un combattant de l’armée de Terre.⁰Mes pensées vont à sa… pic.twitter.com/cBXnGpJbJf

— Chef d’état-major de l’armée de Terre (@CEMAT_FR) March 13, 2026

Yesterday, Reuters reported that at least ​six French soldiers ‌were wounded in ​a ​drone attack targeting ⁠a ​joint Peshmerga-French ​base in the Makhmour area ​of ​Iraq.

Reports out of India suggest that New Delhi is set to repatriate the 183 crew members of the Iranian naval vessel IRIS Lavan as early as today. The sailors had been in the Indian port of Kochi since the Iranian amphibious vessel docked there on March 4 as tensions in the Middle East escalated.

India to repatriate 183 Iranian sailors from warship IRIS Lavan in Kochi. Repatriation can happen as early as today.

Reporting:https://t.co/8dTBLDSisc

— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) March 13, 2026

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) office has provided an update on an incident in which a cargo vessel was reported to have been hit by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, which resulted in a fire onboard. The incident is said to have occurred 11 nautical miles north of Oman. The vessel had requested assistance, and the crew was previously said to be evacuating the vessel. While the fire onboard the vessel has been extinguished, as of today, at least some of the crew remain unlocated.

Footage has emerged showing the demise of the unique KC-747 aircraft formerly used by the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) during an attack on Mehrabad Air Base last week. The tanker version of the 747 was not flown anywhere else in the world, and Iran had just one flying example. You can read all about the aircraft in this past article. 

An unnamed IDF official talking to the Israeli N12 news channel provided their assessment of the interdiction campaign against Iranian missile launchers.

“We destroyed between 160 and 190 launchers, disabled another 200, and around 150 remain active,” the official claimed, noting that the United States “didn’t believe we would succeed in the decapitation strike.”

A senior military official:

“The Americans didn’t believe we would succeed in the decapitation strike.
We destroyed between 160–190 launchers, disabled another 200, and around 150 remain active. The missile crews are afraid to go out; there are desertions and refusals to…

— Amit Segal (@AmitSegal) March 13, 2026

Noteworthy, however, is an assessment from Bloomberg today, which states that the number of Iranian missile launchers has held steady after a week of unrelenting airstrikes, based on Israeli and Western estimates. “Finding the vehicles in such a large country, especially when some airspace is still dangerous for U.S. and Israeli aircraft, poses a huge challenge,” the article says.

There are rumors that the Iranian missile attack on Ali Al Salem Air Base last week may have destroyed three Kuwait Air Force Typhoon fighters that were based there. This remains unverified at this stage, although satellite evidence confirms that the facility was struck.

I’m hearing the attack on Ali Al Salem air base last week – 5/6 March – destroyed three Kuwait Air Force Typhoons. Those Iranian missiles appear to be very accurate. Doesn’t bode well for those without effective ballistic missile defences…

— Alan Warnes (@warnesyworld) March 13, 2026

LATEST UPDATES:

We have concluded our live coverage for the day.

4:20 PM EST –

In a post on X, the House Select Committee on China railed against the Chinese AI firm MizarVision’s assistance to Iran. 

The company owns no satellites, but “pulls imagery from multiple commercial providers, including VANTOR Technologies, Airbus Defence and Space, and China’s Jilin-1 satellite constellation, according to Military AI.

MizarVision’s AI software “scans vast volumes of satellite imagery, automatically identifying equipment ranging from aerial tankers like the KC-135 to missile defense systems like the Patriot,” the outlet noted.

Chinese AI firm @MizarVision is reportedly compiling satellite imagery from providers like @vantortech and @AirbusSpace to map U.S. military deployments across the Middle East.

Companies tied to the CCP are turning AI into a battlefield surveillance tool against America. The…

— Select Committee on China (@ChinaSelect) March 13, 2026

Vice President JD Vance told reporters it is unclear whether the new Supreme Leader of Iran was wounded in an attack by the U.S. or Israel.

NEWS: @VP tells us it’s not clear if the wounds that the new Supreme leader of Iran suffered are from a US strike, given much fire in this war, but it was likely from either Israel and US. “We know that he’s hurt. We don’t know exactly how bad, but we know that he’s hurt,” Vance… pic.twitter.com/5l9BwmYW1J

— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) March 13, 2026

Earlier today, U.S. military officials said tonight would see the most intense bombardment of the war. Now the Israelis are making that claim.

An Israeli leading military journalist is saying that tonight is going to be a very intense night in #Iran in terms of airstrikes, adding “might be the most significant one since the beginning of the war”.
He also says that the attack again Iran’s top intel leadership seems to… https://t.co/HSBIqt9aT7

— Nadav Pollak (@NadavPollak) March 13, 2026

Both Iran and Israel are getting pummeled.

Video emerged on social media showing massive attacks on Tehran.

Meanwhile, there is also video of Iranian ballistic missiles striking central Israel.

3:44 PM EST –

The Tripoli ARG, reportedly tapped to join Epic Fury, is speeding toward the Middle East from Asia, notes open-source investigator MT Anderson.

HIGH-SPEED SURGE: USS Tripoli ARG Sprints for the Middle East

OSINT Update (Mar 12 imagery): Following the announcement that the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group is heading to the Middle East for Operation Epic Fury, visual evidence confirms she wastes no time.

She is already… https://t.co/Mk5NvCriwp pic.twitter.com/NJ5NnHqgu9

— MT Anderson (@MT_Anderson) March 13, 2026

In a YouTube video, the Economist offers some insights into how the war in Iran has widespread implications across the globe.

“The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz—a slim waterway between Oman and Iran through which a large proportion of global oil and gas supply flows—has consequences for much of the world,” the publication noted. “The fall-out will not be felt evenly. Russia has a lot to gain from the escalating conflict.”

Is Russia the real winner from the war in Iran? | The Economist

A cyber attack by Iran-linked hackers “has paused the supply of essential medical equipment to UK hospitals,” TheIPaper reports. “Handala – a hacktivist group linked to Iranian intelligence – successfully breached the IT systems of a global medical technology firm supplying the NHS, pausing orders of mouth swabs and defibrillators to UK hospitals.”

NEW: A cyber attack by Iran-linked hackers has paused the supply of essential medical equipment to UK hospitals.

Handala – a hacktivist group linked to Iranian intelligence – successfully breached the IT systems of a global medical technology firm supplying the NHS, pausing…

— Richard Holmes 🕵🏻‍♂️ (@Richard_AHolmes) March 13, 2026

Despite proclamations from Hegseth to the contrary, the number of Iranian missile launchers has held steady after a week of unrelenting airstrikes, Bloomberg News reported, citing Israeli and western estimates. This highlights “the difficulty of finding small, mobile targets without having complete control of the skies,” the outlet explained.

3:00 PM EST—

CENTCOM has published this video showing B-2 Spirit bombers taking off for a raid on Iran. Flying global non-stop missions from their home base in Whiteman, Missouri, America’s stealth bombers have so far targeted Iran’s missile caves. These facilities are built deep under mountains and are primarily used for storage, but some of them actually have the ability to launch ballistic missiles through apertures in their ceilings.

B-2 stealth bombers takeoff to conduct a mission during Operation Epic Fury, delivering long-range fire to not only eliminate the threat from the Iranian regime today, but also eliminate their ability to rebuild in the future. pic.twitter.com/ebyUYNnOLo

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 13, 2026

2:50 PM EST—

The U.K. Ministry of Defence says that a British counter-drone unit shot down “multiple drones overnight” following recent strikes on coalition bases in Iraq. Meanwhile, U.K. Royal Air Force Typhoon fighters flew air defense operations over Bahrain for the first time, the MoD said in an update shared on X.

It added: “British Typhoon and F-35 jets are now flying in defence of British interests and allies across Qatar, Cyprus, UAE, Jordan, and Bahrain. U.K. defences in the eastern Mediterranean now include Typhoon and F-35 jets, air defense and counter-drone units, Wildcat and Merlin helicopters, and a further 400 air defense personnel are currently deployed to protect British lives and interests.”

2:30 PM EST—

Sri Lanka today repatriated the remains of 84 Iranians killed in the U.S. attack on the frigate IRIS Dena, sunk by a U.S. Navy submarine, local officials said.

The sailors were killed when the IRIS Dena was torpedoed on March 4 just off the coast of Sri Lanka, in an incident that you can read more about here.

An Airbus A340 chartered by Iran “left a short while ago carrying the remains of the sailors,” an airport official at Mattala International Airport in the island’s south told AFP earlier today.

The destination of the flight was not disclosed.

This is the Turkish Antalya A340, chartered by Iran to repatriate the remains of 84 sailors killed in a US submarine attack on March 4 just off Sri Lanka’s southern coast. The aircraft has landed at Mattala,- often dubbed Sri Lanka’s ‘ghost airport’ and the world’s emptiest. https://t.co/Yn6ryI9H18 pic.twitter.com/n8Gy5SfTnf

— Ranga Sirilal (@rangaba) March 13, 2026

2:25 PM EST—

Only 77 ships have so far crossed the Strait of Hormuz this month, as the war continues to disrupt one of the world’s most vital shipping routes. This data was provided today by Lloyd’s List Intelligence. Significantly, Lloyd’s said that most of these vessels belonged to the so-called ‘shadow fleet’ — ships used to evade Western sanctions and regulations, typically linked to Russia and Iran.

The 77 transits recorded so far this month compare with 1,229 passages in the same period last year, according to Lloyd’s List.

🚨 Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has collapsed amid the Middle East war.

Just 77 ships have crossed so far in March, compared to 1,229 during the same period last year, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence.

Most vessels making the passage belong to sanction-evading… pic.twitter.com/WKoNAAl2eA

— Mossad Commentary (@MOSSADil) March 13, 2026

1:48 PM EST—

There are reports that India has cut a deal with Iran to allow their energy shipments to pass through the Strait.

Iran and India cut a deal: two LPG tankers get through the strait.

That countries are engaging in bilateral discussions with Iran points to the success of the Iranian strategy–as well as the ongoing failure of the US to resolve the security crisis in the strait.…

— Gregory Brew (@gbrew24) March 13, 2026

The Ford is still in the Red Sea and gaining destroyer escorts. It isn’t clear what the plan is for the carrier, but it could move through the tumultuous Bab el Mandeb Strait, which the Houthis again threatened, in order to be in a better striking position in the Arabian Sea. The ship suffered a fire in a laundry facility and is on its second deployment extension. How long it can stay on station remains a major question.

THE BUILDUP CONTINUES: 3rd Destroyer Joins the Ford

OSINT Update (Mar 12 imagery): Tracking the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) as she continues to hold off the coast of Al Wajh in the Northern Red Sea.

She has shifted her box slightly to ~100km offshore, but the critical tactical… pic.twitter.com/lR1p6qSbmI

— MT Anderson (@MT_Anderson) March 13, 2026

Some commentary on the Marine deployment to the Middle East from TWZ‘s editor:

When you think of a Marine Expeditionary Unit in the context of this conflict, one target comes to mind: Kharg Island, where the majority of Iran’s oil exports flow. Untouched by the conflict yet, due to its strategic value and critical infrastructure. Seizing it would be a huge deal and would be a risky operation. Not just the seizing, but more so the staying. If Iran thought it was lost, they could bombard it with pretty much everything they have. Also, unlikely to push the MEU into the Persian Gulf. Would be an aerial operation, also not without risks.

There are also a number of islands in and around the Strait of Hormuz that could be used to help put up a screen against shipping attacks, etc. Also risky for obvious reasons.

There are also a number of islands in and around the Strait of Hormuz that could be used help put up a screen against shipping attacks etc. Also risky for obvious reasons. pic.twitter.com/0nolqdew9J

— Tyler Rogoway (@Aviation_Intel) March 13, 2026

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

March 13 (UPI) — The USS Tripoli, and the 2,500 Marines on the amphibious assault ship, are headed to the Middle East to bolster U.S. military power there as the war in Iran enters its third week.

The Tripoli, along with Marines of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Group, had been operating in the Philippine Sea but is now headed west south of Taiwan through the Luzon Strait, USNI News reported.

Although the Tripoli had been with the USS San Diego and USS New Orleans in the Philippine Sea, it is not clear if the San Diego and the New Orleans are also being moved closer to Iran.

As Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz to most traffic, and is targeting vessels that transit it, the move comes as U.S. Central Command asked the Pentagon for additional military options in the conflict, Axios reported.

The 31st MEU can conduct ground operations, which have not been announced but have not been ruled out, according to the Trump administration.

The deployment comes as President Donald Trump said he is considering sending U.S. Navy vessels to escort shipping vessels through the strait, the military is planning to take out anti-ship missiles that have been sent by Iran to the area.

CENTCOM is particularly focused on ensuring freedom of navigation in the straight, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan Caine told reporters on Friday, which “means going after Iran’s mine-laying capability and destroying their ability to attack commercial vessels.

Oil prices have surged over the last week after Iran shut down the strait, though Caine noted that some traffic is moving through it.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also said Friday that the military is “dealing with” Iranian attacks on the strait, saying that “we have been dealing with it and don’t need to worry about it.”

Hegseth added that as the military campaign continues and Iran’s military capabilities weaken, the United States has also been taking out Iranian defense companies to prevent the ability to build more weapons.