The United States is sending a naval landing force, typically consisting of several warships and about 5,000 Marines and sailors, three sources told The Wall Street Journal, following Iran's escalating threats and attacks on shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Sources confirm to both the WSJ and the AP that the Japan-based amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli and its embarked Marine force are on their way. According to the AP, it is about 2,500 Marines.
“In my bones”
In a statement on Friday, Donald Trump said that the Iranian regime in Tehran is being crushed and that it is an "honor."
"They have been killing innocent people around the world for 47 years and now, as the 47th President of the United States, I am killing them," he wrote on the Truth Social platform.
In a radio interview with Fox News, Trump was asked when the war would be over:
"When I feel it - when I feel it in my bones."
The capital Tehran was rocked by fresh explosions on Friday. An Israeli airstrike on the city center hit a pro-regime demonstration. At least one person was reported killed.
Iranian counterattacks
Iran has launched counterattacks against Israel and pro-Western targets in countries around the Persian Gulf.
Deaths were reported on Friday in Oman and in a drone attack on the diplomatic quarter in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Around 30 people were injured in a rocket attack on the Israeli city of Zarzir. Tel Aviv was also attacked.
French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X that a French soldier was killed in Arbil, Iraq.
In Turkey, another Iranian missile was shot down; it was described as the third in Turkish airspace since the Iran war broke out.
Millions on the run
Almost two weeks have passed since Israel and the United States attacked Iran - an action justified by the fact that Iran was on the verge of producing nuclear weapons.
Since then, the bombing has been almost non-stop. The US military says that over 15,000 targets have been hit in the country. Israel, in turn, says that it has carried out over 7,600 airstrikes against Iran.
The UN refugee agency UNHCR estimates that over 3.2 million Iranians have been displaced. The Iranian Ministry of Health states that over 1,200 people have been killed, which is in line with data from the US-based activist group Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
On February 28, the United States and Israel attacked Iran, without the support of the UN Security Council. The attack was described as a preemptive strike to prevent the country from developing nuclear weapons. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several other leaders were killed in the bombings.
A year earlier, in March 2025, US President Donald Trump sent a letter to the Ayatollah to initiate negotiations over Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program. Five meetings were held with no results.
On June 22, the United States entered the then-ongoing war between Israel and Iran and bombed three nuclear energy facilities.
In September, previous UN sanctions on Iran were reimposed. The economy deteriorated and popular protests erupted before the turn of the year. Trump said he was prepared to intervene on the side of the protesters when they were killed in their thousands - but that did not happen.
In early 2026, US military forces gathered in Iran's vicinity.
New negotiations with the regime began on February 3, with no results.
