US amphibious ship arrives in the Middle East

TT

Published 2026-03-28 20.34

         

         USS Tripoli. Archive photo. Photo: Aaron Favila/AP/TT

The US amphibious ship USS Tripoli and its force have been in the Middle East since Friday, the US military command Centcom announced.
The USS Tripoli is normally stationed in Japan but was ordered to go to the Middle East about two weeks ago. According to the AP, there are around 2,500 Marines on board the USS Tripoli.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on Friday that Washington can achieve its goals in Iran “without any ground troops”.

But he also said that President Donald Trump “must be prepared for a range of different situations” and that US forces are available “to give the president maximum choice to adapt to the eventualities that could arise”.