Trump has ordered the Okinawa-based 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and Tripoli assault ship to be redeployed to the Persian Gulf
2-MIN READ2-MIN1 ListenKyodoandAssociated PressPublished: 12:52pm, 14 Mar 2026The US military has started moving at least one amphibious assault ship and more than 2,000 Marines from Japan to the Middle East as the US-Israeli war against Iran continues, according to US media reports.With the war about to enter its third week and US President Donald Trump vowing to ramp up military action against Iran, The Wall Street Journal and Fox News said on Friday the military was sending the Okinawa-based 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit to the region.The assault ship Tripoli, homeported in Sasebo in Nagasaki prefecture in southwestern Japan, could arrive in one to two weeks, according to Fox News.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has shrugged off the threat on global oil shipments, saying: “We have been dealing with it and don’t need to worry about it.”
