The US military build-up in the region is growing as tensions with Iran escalate and shipping arrangements in the Strait of Hormuz change. The moves include an additional aircraft carrier, an amphibious assault group and a reconnaissance unit, amid repeated threats by US President Donald Trump to launch a large-scale attack on Tehran and Iranian warnings of a more destructive response.
US arrangements to secure shipping in the strait
Alongside its military deployment, Washington is proposing new arrangements aimed at facilitating ships’ movement and securing their passage through the strait, one of the world’s most important maritime routes for the oil trade.
Abdel Qader Arada said a US draft resolution included measures to facilitate navigation and transit, including what has come to be known as “defensive escort” for ships, as well as support for efforts by countries concerned to clear naval mines from the area. The United States continues to impose a naval blockade on Iran as part of pressure targeting trade flows and Iranian oil exports.
Trump described the expected mechanisms of the blockade as becoming a “wall of steel”, referring to the tools Washington intends to use to tighten restrictions on Tehran. In the same context, the US Treasury secretary spoke of more than one billion barrels of oil passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The US administration says it is working on measures that combine facilitating ships’ passage with preventing Iran from exporting oil, including oil held at sea. Developments in the strait coincide with a US military redeployment, while US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is withholding details about the new movements.
Naval and amphibious reinforcements heading to the region
The group is accompanied by the 13th Reconnaissance Unit. A US official said about 2,000 troops from the unit would be aboard the ship. Military and strategic expert Colonel Nidal Abu Zaid said the US military build-up was largely complete at the air and naval levels, while the new development was the introduction of ground elements into movements linked to events in the Strait of Hormuz.
Abu Zaid added that aerial refuelling aircraft were now available at Ovda, Ramon and Ben Gurion airports in Israel, strengthening air readiness. He said the US naval fleet was also ready, awaiting the arrival of the amphibious ship Makin Island and the new aircraft carrier heading towards the Middle East.
US naval doctrine and the distribution of the fleet
Abu Zaid linked the deployment to US naval doctrine, based on the concept of “command of the seas”. He noted that the commander of the military operation, Admiral Brad Cooper, belonged to the Navy, saying this strengthened reliance on naval options within the US strategy in the region.
He explained that US naval doctrine divides the fleet into three thirds: one for maintenance, the second for training and the third for operations. He said the aircraft carriers George W. Bush and George Washington were in the theatre of operations, while he considered the arrival of the aircraft carrier Eisenhower more likely to be linked to logistical support than direct engagement.
According to Abu Zaid, the most significant new feature of the US deployment was the introduction of ground elements, including the reconnaissance unit accompanying the Makin Island. He linked this to the presence of SEAL units and airborne forces in the theatre of operations. He said the reconnaissance unit could form the spearhead for reconnaissance ahead of any joint naval and ground operation, or for preparing a landing moving from sea to land.
US-Iranian differences over the concept of control
However, he expected the ground option to remain postponed until the conditions needed for its implementation were in place. Explaining the discrepancy between the US and Iranian accounts of ship movements in the Strait of Hormuz, Abu Zaid said the two sides were presenting different concepts of control.
Tehran links control to the ability to disrupt shipping and prevent vessels from passing, while Washington links it to its ability to ensure continued transit through the strait. The military expert concluded that achieving actual military control of the strait required “verification and clearance”, saying neither side had fully met the two conditions so far.
He described what was happening as an “operational dispute” through which each side was seeking to impose its own understanding of control over the maritime route. In response to Trump’s threats to launch a large-scale military operation against Iran, Iranian officials affirmed that Tehran would respond to any attack, warning that its response would be more destructive.
