The Biden administration deployed sailors and Marines to the Middle East last week as part of its “pre-announced deployment to support deterrence efforts in the Strait of Hormuz,” the Pentagon said. 

The Pentagon said the mission is to help partners keep open important shipping lanes that connect the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean.

“It’s not just the U.S. military that’s out there patrolling commercial shipping lanes. We’re working as part of a broader coalition … on that effort,” said Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, a spokesman from the Pentagon.

According to data compiled by Bloomberg, tankers carry about 17 million barrels per day of crude and condensate from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates through the waterway.

TRENDPOST: The Trends Journal has reported extensively on how the U.S. and Iran have clashed over the vital oil transit route. Washington blames Iran for using its navy to seize oil tankers, while Iran has criticized the U.S.’s presence in the region. See:

● “U.S. DEPLOYS NEW FORCES TO GULF OF OMAN AMID TENSIONS WITH IRAN OVER OIL TANKERS” (24 Jul 2023)

● “MIDDLE EAST MELTDOWN: STOKING TENSIONS WITH IRAN, U.S. SENDS F-16 FIGHTERS TO THE PERSIAN GULF” (18 Jul 2023)

● “U.S. RAMPS UP PRESSURE ON IRAN WITH INCREASED PATROLS IN THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ” (30 May 2023)

● “U.S. TO INCREASE MILITARY PRESENCE IN THE ARABIAN GULF, BLAMES RECENT IRANIAN SHIP SEIZURES” (16 May 2023)

● “AS U.S. RAMPS UP TENSIONS WITH IRAN, TEHRAN GOES ON WEAPONS SPENDING SPREE” (8 Aug 2023)

Abolfazl Shekarchi, an Iranian armed forces spokesman, recently told Al Jazeera: “What do the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Indian Ocean have to do with America? What is your business being here?”

Indeed, as we have frequently noted, what if Iranian, Russian, Chinese, and North Korean ships were sailing in the Gulf of Mexico, and off the shores of America in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans? It would be declared an act of war and the majority of Americans would swallow the White House, Congress, and the Presstitutes bullshit.  

The U.S. has focused more military attention on the region over the seizures of oil tankers. We have noted it was in response to Washington’s pirating of Iranian ships in the region. But this was ignored in the mainstream media.

Our readers know that the U.S. started the tit-for-tat tanker seizures in April when it took control of the Iranian tanker Suez Rajan that was carrying about 800,000 barrels of crude, which was towed to the U.S.

Analysts say President Joe Biden has picked up where his predecessor Donald Trump left off by taking tough actions against Iran and they say the presence of U.S. sailors and Marines could lead to a “dangerous confrontation.”

Sina Toossi, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy think tank in Washington, told Al Jazeera that Biden seems to be doubling down on Trump’s failed policy of economic warfare against Iran.

“The track record of this policy—not just in the past five years but for decades—has been that it will lead to a cycle of mutual escalation, where the US will escalate, and Iran will counter-escalate. So, this is very dangerous,” she said.

Indeed, Iran has not taken this U.S. provocation lightly and has begun to arm its forces with new drones and long-range missiles. Al Jazeera also said that Tehran claimed to achieve hypersonic missile capabilities. 

The state-linked Tasnim news website reported on Wednesday that these missiles are undergoing tests and “will mark the beginning of a new chapter in the defense power of our country.”