DUBAI: More than 3,000 United States military personnel have arrived in the Red Sea aboard two warships as part of a ‘beefed up response’ from Washington after tanker seizures by Iran, the US Navy said on Monday.

The deployment adds to a growing US military buil­dup in tense Gulf waterways vital to the global oil trade and led Tehran on Monday to accuse the US of ‘inflaming regional instability’.

The US sailors and Marines entered the Red Sea on Sunday after transiting through the Suez Canal in a pre-announced deployment, the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet said.

They arrived on board the USS Bataan — an amphibious assault ship which can carry fixed-wing and rotary aircraft as well as landing craft — and USS Carter Hall warships — a dock landing ship, transports Marines, their gear, and lands them ashore — providing “greater flexibility and maritime capability” to the Fifth Fleet.

Tehran accuses Washington of fuelling instability in region

US interests in region

However, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nas­ser Kanani told a presser on Monday that US deployments were only serving Washington’s interests.

“The US government’s military presence in the region has never created security. Their interests in this region have always compelled them to fuel instability and insecurity,” he added.

“We are deeply convinced that the countries of the Persian Gulf are capable of ensuring their own security.”

The latest move comes after Washington said its forces blocked two attempts by Iran to seize commercial tankers in international waters off Oman on July 5.

On the other hand, the maritime services in Iran said one of the two tankers, the Bahamian-flagged Richmond Voyager, had collided with an Iranian vessel, seriously injuring five crew members, according to state news agency IRNA.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2023