Click to see full-size image. (CENTCOM)
The 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) of the United States Marine Corps has arrived in the Middle East, in a stark violation of the recent memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Iran.
The arrival of the MEU was announced by the U.S. Central Command, which posted a photo to X showing the lead vessels of the unit, the USS Boxer amphibious assault ship transiting the Indian Ocean on June 30.
“USS Boxer (LHD 4) and USS Portland (LPD 27) sail in formation while transiting the Indian Ocean, June 30, 2026. The Boxer Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and embarked 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit are currently operating in the Middle East as part of a scheduled deployment,” the command said in an accompanying post.
It added that “the Boxer ARG (Amphibious Ready Group) includes USS Comstock (LSD 45), which arrived in the region in early May.”
The Boxer, whose deployment to the Middle East was first reported in May amid the war with Iran, can carry out a number of warplanes, F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter jets, AH-1Z Super Viper attack helicopters and MV-22B Osprey assault support tiltrotor aircraft.
Together with the Portland and Comstock, the vessels carry approximately 2,500 marines and a total of about 4,000 service members.
It’s worth noting that another MEU, the 31st, is already deployed in the Middle East, precisely in the Arabian Sea close to Iran, with three vessels — the USS Tripoli, also an aircraft-carrying amphibious assault ship, with the USS New Orleans, and the USS San Diego — and also over 2,000 marines.
Backing the marines in the Arabian Sea are two carrier strike groups, one led by the USS George H.W. Bush and another by the USS Abraham Lincoln.
The arrival of the 11th MEU represents a stark violation of the MoU signed earlier this month to end the war, which states in its ninth term that “the United States of America will not impose any new sanctions and will not deploy additional forces in the region.”
With the arrival of the marine unit, the U.S. now, and for the first time since the start of the war in Iran has sufficient forces to mount an amphibious assault against the Islamic Republic.
The deployment may be just meant to increase pressure on Iran, especially after the U.S. recent attempts to challenge the Islamic Republic’s control over the Strait of Hormuz. Still, a surprise American amphibious assault targeting an Iranian island, like the oil-exporting Kharg, or the coast of the waterway can’t be ruled out.
U.S. President Donald Trump has attacked Iran amid talks not once, but twice in the past, and there is no reason to believe this won’t happen again.
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