US Forces Buildup in the Gulf Points to Increasing Conflict with Tehran

A handout photo from the US Navy shows the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan traveling through the Atlantic Ocean on July 20, 2023. (AP)
A handout photo from the US Navy shows the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan traveling through the Atlantic Ocean on July 20, 2023. (AP)
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US Forces Buildup in the Gulf Points to Increasing Conflict with Tehran

A handout photo from the US Navy shows the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan traveling through the Atlantic Ocean on July 20, 2023. (AP)
A handout photo from the US Navy shows the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan traveling through the Atlantic Ocean on July 20, 2023. (AP)

A recent analysis by The Associated Press (AP) said that the United States was strengthening its presence in the Arab Gulf, by deploying thousands of Marines and advanced US fighter jets and warships, in a sign of a worsening conflict with Iran over its nuclear program.

According to the report, the dispatch of the troop-and-aircraft-carrying USS Bataan to the Gulf, alongside stealth F-35 fighters and other warplanes, comes as America wants to focus on China and Russia.

At the same time, it noted that Washington sees that while it is easy to engage militarily into the Middle East, it is difficult to get out of the region completely, especially as Iran continues to enrich uranium, closer than ever to weapons-grade levels after the collapse of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

According to the AP report, there is no indication that diplomacy will soon revive the agreement, as Iran has in recent weeks resumed harassing and seizing ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, where about 20 percent of the world’s oil is transported through the narrow waterway linking the Arabian Gulf to the rest of the world.

The report also noted that for the US, keeping the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping was a priority to prevent to spike of global energy prices, amid pressure markets resulting from the Russia-Ukraine war. In parallel, Gulf Arab nations need the waterway to get their oil to market and worry about Iran’s intentions in the wider region.

In recent months, the US military has begun strengthening its presence in the Middle East, the AP said. It conducted a Strait of Hormuz patrol with the top US, British and French naval commanders in the region on board.

The report added that in late March, A-10 Thunderbolt II warplanes arrived at Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates. The Pentagon ordered F-16 fighters, as well as the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner, to the region. Stealth F-35A Lightning II fighter jets also arrived last week.

According to the AP analysis, America will have part of a Marine expeditionary unit in the region for the first time in nearly two years. The deployment of thousands of Marines and sailors consists of both the USS Bataan and the USS Carter Hall, a landing ship.

While the US military has not discussed precisely what it will do with the increased presence in the region, these moves have caught Iran’s attention. In recent days, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian called his counterparts in Kuwait and the UAE to tell them: “We can achieve peace, stability and progress in the region without the presence of foreigners.”

Moreover, Iran’s army commander, General Abdolrahim Mousavi, said the US deployment would bring only “insecurity and damage” to the region.

With diplomacy stalled and Iran preparing to be more aggressive at sea, the United States appears once again to be relying on military force to persuade Tehran to back down. But that leaves the rest of the issues between them outside the seas to continue to fester, the AP report underlined.



NKorea Leader: Longest ICBM Test 'Appropriate Military Action' against Enemies

FILE PHOTO: A Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile is launched during what North Korea says is a drill at an unknown location December 18, 2023 in this picture released by the Korean Central News Agency. KCNA via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: A Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile is launched during what North Korea says is a drill at an unknown location December 18, 2023 in this picture released by the Korean Central News Agency. KCNA via REUTERS
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NKorea Leader: Longest ICBM Test 'Appropriate Military Action' against Enemies

FILE PHOTO: A Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile is launched during what North Korea says is a drill at an unknown location December 18, 2023 in this picture released by the Korean Central News Agency. KCNA via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: A Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile is launched during what North Korea says is a drill at an unknown location December 18, 2023 in this picture released by the Korean Central News Agency. KCNA via REUTERS

North Korea said it tested an intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday, upgrading what it called the "world's most powerful strategic weapon,” as Seoul warned Pyongyang could get missile technology from Russia for helping with the war in Ukraine.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was on hand and said the test was a warning to enemies that have been threatening the country's security, KCNA state news agency said.
"The test-fire is an appropriate military action that fully meets the purpose of informing the rivals, who have intentionally escalated the regional situation and posed a threat to the security of our Republic recently, of our counteraction will," Kim was quoted as saying by KCNA.
The muscle-flexing comes amid a storm of international condemnation and rising alarm over what the U.S. and others say is North Korea's deployment of 11,000 troops to Russia - 3,000 of them close to the western frontlines with Ukraine.
The launch drew swift condemnation from South Korea, Japan and the United States.
A day earlier, Seoul reported signs the North may test-launch an ICBM or conduct a seventh nuclear test around the US presidential election on Tuesday, seeking to draw attention to its growing military prowess.
Shin Seung-ki, head of research on North Korea's military at the state-run Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, said the launch was likely to test improved booster performance of an existing ICBM - possibly with the help of Russia.
"North Korea will want to keep getting help like this, because it saves times and costs while improving performance and upgrading the stability of weapons system," he said.
Having come under pressure over its engagement with Russia, "the intention may be to show that it will not bow to pressure, that it will respond to strength with strength, and also to seek some influence on the US presidential election," Shin added.

The launch early on Thursday was the longest ballistic missile test by the North with a flight-time of 87 minutes, according to South Korea.
KCNA said the test set new records of its missile capabilities.
The missile took off on a sharply lofted trajectory from an area near the North's capital and splashed down about 200 km west of Japan's Okushiri island, off Hokkaido.
It reached an altitude of 7,000 km and flew a distance of 1,000 km, the Japanese government said.

The so-called lofted trajectory of a projectile flying at a sharply raised angle is intended to test its thrust and stability over much shorter distances relative to the designed range, partly for safety and to avoid the political fallout of sending a missile far into the Pacific.

North Korea's last ICBM, dubbed the Hwasong-18, was tested in December last year. Fueled by solid-propellant and fired from a road launcher, it was also launched at a sharply raised angle and flew for 73 minutes, translating to a potential range of 15,000 km on a normal trajectory.
That is a distance that puts anywhere in the mainland United States within range.

Pyongyang's latest test came just hours after US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and his South Korean counterpart Kim Yong-hyun met in Washington to condemn the North Korean troop deployment in Russia.

Neither Moscow or Pyongyang have directly acknowledged the deployment, but Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia on Wednesday questioned why its allies like North Korea could not help Moscow in its war against Ukraine given Western countries claim the right to help Kyiv.

South Korea said the deployment was a direct threat to its security because the North would gain valuable combat experience in a modern warfare and it will likely be rewarded by Moscow with "technology transfers" in areas such as tactical nuclear weapons, ICBMs, ballistic missile submarines and military reconnaissance satellites.