Trump deploys 5,000 Marines into Hormuz tinderbox as boots on the ground fears grow after 13 US troops die in Iran war carnage

Donald Trump has deployed thousands of Marines to the Strait of Hormuz amid growing fears that the United States is ready to send troops to the region as the world’s oil supplies are overwhelmed.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has approved a request from U.S. Central Command to deploy a Marine reconnaissance unit, typically consisting of several warships and 5,000 troops, three officials told the Wall Street Journal.

The Japan-based USS Tripoli, an amphibious assault ship, and its Marines are now en route to the Middle East, where they join other Marines already in combat, officials said.

The war spiraled Friday as the U.S. death toll rose to 13 soldiers, domestic gas prices soared to $3.60 per gallon, and Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani defiantly mocked Donald Trump on the streets of Tehran.

The strengthened deployment comes as the Trump administration is focusing on seizing Iran’s Kharg Island, about 26 miles from the mainland in the Persian Gulf, which handles 90 percent of the Islamic regime’s fuel exports.

‘It’s not high on the list, but it’s one of many different things, and I can change my mind in seconds,’ Trump told Fox News Radio on Friday.

Hegseth earlier lashed out at reporters at a Pentagon press conference, slamming ‘fake headlines’ about the war and claiming ‘we’re dealing with’ the Bosphorus, adding ‘you don’t need to worry about that’.

As the stalemate in the Bosphorus deepened, it was confirmed that all six soldiers on the refueling plane that crashed in Iraq died.

United States Marines participate in an amphibious assault demonstration at Camp Pendleton, California, USA, October 18, as part of the 250th anniversary celebrations attended by US Vice President J.D. Vance.

Aerial view of the coast of Iran and the island of Qeshm in the Strait of Hormuz

Recruits from Lima Company, the first gender-integrated training class in the United States Marine Corps (USMC), San Diego, complete their 5.7-mile trek to the top of a mountain called The Reaper on the Edson Range during The Crucible, the final portion of the third phase of recruit training before officially becoming U.S. Marines, April 22, 2021, at Camp Pendleton in San Diego County, California.

Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker crashed in western Iraq after a mid-air collision in friendly airspace around 2pm on Thursday; Four crew members were initially confirmed dead.

U.S. Central Command confirmed Friday that two more crew members died after rescue efforts failed. The second aircraft involved in the collision landed safely, but suffered minor damage to its tail.

The six men were not immediately identified as the military notified their next of kin, bringing the US death toll in the Iran war to 13 after seven soldiers were killed in a drone strike on a Kuwait base on the second day of the war.

Hegseth spent the briefing lecturing the press about negative headlines and refusing to answer questions about the military’s plan to thwart the Islamic regime’s efforts to choke global oil supplies.

‘Some people in the press can’t stop. Let me make a few suggestions. “When people look at TV, they see banners, headlines – I used to be in this business, I know everything is written on purpose,” the former Fox News star said.

‘For example, the ‘Middle East War Intensifies’ banner. What to read instead in Banner? What about ‘Iran is becoming increasingly desperate’ because they are. Or more fake news from CNN. ‘The sooner David Ellison takes over this network, the better.’

Hegseth claimed the US military would hit Iran with the ‘heaviest’ firepower since the start of the war and insisted Washington maintained air and naval superiority over the Islamic regime.

When asked by the Daily Mail why the US military could not protect the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil shipping routes, from Iranian attacks, Hegseth dodged the question.

Statement photo submitted by the Royal Thai Navy shows the Thai-flagged cargo ship Mayuree Naree on fire after being hit by Iranian missiles in the Strait of Hormuz on March 11.

A fireball shot out from the site of an Israeli air strike targeting a building in the village of Abbasiyya in southern Lebanon on March 13.

US Central Command has confirmed that all six military crew members on a refueling mission died in a mid-air collision in ‘friendly airspace’. The American plane that survived the crash is seen above

All six crew members on the KC-135 refueling plane died, but CentCom says it was not due to enemy or friendly fire. Above is the damage to the tail of the second plane after the collision.

‘We planned this. We know him. Because ultimately we want to do it in the order that makes the most sense for what we want to achieve,” Hegseth said.

Hegseth then began criticizing the press again and He insisted that the US was on track to ‘defeat, destroy and disable’ the Iranian military.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which one fifth of the world’s oil passes, is still under siege. According to AAA, gas prices in the U.S. have risen from a pre-war $2.90 to an average of $3.60 per gallon.

Meanwhile, Iran claims that its leadership is intact.

Iranian security chief Larijani marched with crowds in Tehran on the last day of Ramadan, demonstrating against Israel and mocking Trump by claiming that the US President was “not aware” that Iran was “mature and determined”.

Iran launches new attacks on Dubai’s International Financial Centre; Explosions shook the city and thick smoke rose above the skyline.

Trump admitted In my interview with the Daily Mail Earlier this month it was rumored that more soldiers would die in the war with Iran. The confirmed death toll at the time of the call was three.

The Pentagon confirmed this week that 140 soldiers had been injured in the fighting so far, but claimed most of them were minor injuries and have since been resolved.

Iranian security chief Ali Larijani marched with crowds in Tehran on Friday, the last day of Ramadan. Trump claims he ‘didn’t realize’ Iran was ‘mature and determined’ when it decided to attack

The President, First Lady, Vice President J.D. Vance, Second Lady Usha Vance, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Middle East Special Representative Steve Witkoff, and Attorney General Pam Bondi during a dignified transfer ceremony at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, March 7.

Army Reserve Major Jeffrey O’Brien, left, 45, and Chief Warrant Officer Robert M Marzan, 54

Captain Cody A Khork (left), 35, and Sergeant 1st Class Nicole M Amor, 39

Sergeant 1st Class Noah L Tietjens (left), 42, and Specialist Declan J Coady, 20

Sergeant Benjamin N. Pennington of Glendale, Kentucky, was killed March 1 during an Iranian attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.

Trump flew to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware last week for the honorable transfer of soldiers returning to US soil in coffins.

The six Americans killed on the second day of combat were Army reservists with the 103rd Sustainment Command, based in Des Moines, Iowa.

Nicole Amor (39), Cody Khork (35), Declan Coady (20), Robert Marzan (54), Jeffrey O’Brien (45) and Noah Tietjens (42) died in the war.

The seventh US soldier killed in the war was identified as 26-year-old Benjamin Pennington of Glendale, Kentucky. He was assigned to 1st Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade at Fort Carson, Colorado.

Details about the last six deaths are expected to be released within the next 24 hours.

“They are wonderful people,” the president said of the deceased in a telephone interview with the Daily Mail this month. ‘And you know, unfortunately we expect that to happen. It can happen constantly[ly] – it could happen again.’

Hegseth dared to appear in front of the camera on Friday amid rumors that the new Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei was ‘disfigured’ or even dead; This was further fueled when an Iranian TV anchor read a statement on state television on Thursday, rather than the Supreme Leader appearing in person.

Hegseth claimed that ‘Iran’s leadership is no better off.’ ‘They’re desperate and hiding, they’ve gone underground, they’re cowering. That’s what mice do.”

‘We know that the new so-called Supreme Leader is injured and possibly disfigured,’ he added.