The US military is deploying thousands more Marines to the Middle East, officials told Reuters on Friday, as President Donald Trump accused NATO allies of cowardice over their reluctance to send forces to help open the Strait of Hormuz.
The narrow waterway, conduit for around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, has been effectively closed to most shipping since the United States and Israel launched the war against Iran almost three weeks ago.
With a major share of global oil and natural gas supply choked off and vital energy infrastructure in both Iran and neighbouring Gulf states under attack, oil prices have jumped about 50% since the start of the war on February 28, threatening a global economic shock.
More than 2,000 people have been killed, most in Iran and Lebanon, while Americans, facing sharply higher prices and wary of military entanglement, appear increasingly concerned at signs the war could expand further.
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that almost two-thirds of Americans believe Trump will order troops into a large-scale ground war, with only 7% supporting such a move.
On Friday, Israel’s military said it carried out two large waves of air strikes on Tehran and central Iran, targeting weapons production facilities and sites storing ballistic missile launchers and components. Israel faced multiple waves of missile attacks from Iran, according to the Israeli military, triggering air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, where explosions from interceptions were heard.
Kuwait's state oil firm said its Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery had suffered multiple drone attacks that set some units alight, the latest energy facility hit by Iran in recent days.
Three U.S. officials told Reuters the USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship, along with its Marine Expeditionary Unit of about 2,500 Marines and accompanying warships, would deploy to the region, although they did not say what their role would be.
Two officials said there had been no decision on whether to send troops into Iran itself, but this week, a U.S. official and three people familiar with the matter told Reuters that U.S. troops could potentially land on Iran's coast or Kharg Island oil export hub.
Trump has said the campaign has been going according to plan, but vented his fury at U.S. allies for declining to help open the Strait of Hormuz while fighting continued, albeit in a conflict they were neither consulted on nor advised of.
Germany, Britain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Canada, as well as non-NATO-member Japan, pledged in a joint statement on Thursday to join "appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait".
Britain authorized the U.S. to use military bases in Britain to hit Iranian missile sites threatening shipping. But German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said he would speak to Trump this weekend, and French President Emmanuel Macron have both said any active intervention would require an end to the fighting.
On his social media platform, Trump said countries complaining about high oil prices were refusing to help open the Strait of Hormuz. "So easy for them to do, with so little risk.
Its Revolutionary Guards said they had attacked Haifa and Tel Aviv with multi-warhead missiles and used drones to attack weapons stocks at U.S. bases, including Sheikh Isa air base in Bahrain. No comment was immediately available from U.S. forces.
Israel said this week it had killed Mahdi Rostami Shamastan, a commander in Iran's intelligence ministry. The semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim said intelligence minister Esmail Ahmadi was also killed, the latest of dozens of leading figures assassinated by Israel.
"We have nobody to talk to," Trump said. "And you know what? We like it that way."
FUEL PRICES CLIMB AHEAD OF U.S. ELECTIONS
Soaring U.S. diesel and gasoline prices may hurt Trump's core political support as his Republicans prepare to defend slim majorities in November's congressional elections.
On Friday, the benchmark price of Brent crude oil was up slightly, near $110, after surging the day before on growing fears that the largest ever disruption to world energy supplies would trigger a global economic shock.
Flows of crude and petroleum have dropped by about 12 million barrels per day - roughly 12% of global demand - due to output cuts and export halts by Gulf producers.
Those barrels cannot easily be replaced by the industries that rely on them, and will be felt for months or even years.
A major Qatari gas field was disrupted by an Iranian strike, and Iraq on Friday declared force majeure on all oilfields developed by foreign oil companies.
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