Washington, Jul 03 (V7N) — The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) has announced the deployment of an additional Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) to the Middle East as negotiations over a final peace agreement between the United States and Iran remain stalled.
According to a report by CNN, the deployment comes ahead of the funeral of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In a post on social media platform X, CENTCOM said the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group and its 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit are currently operating in the Middle East as part of a scheduled deployment.
CENTCOM added that another amphibious task group carrying a second Marine Expeditionary Unit is also operating in the region. A Marine Expeditionary Unit typically consists of more than 2,000 Marines.
The Boxer Amphibious Ready Group includes the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer, the amphibious transport dock USS Portland, which recently arrived in the region, and the dock landing ship USS Comstock, which has been deployed there since May.
The newly deployed force will join the USS Tripoli amphibious assault ship, its accompanying naval vessels, and Marine units already stationed in the Middle East.
A Marine Expeditionary Unit is a rapidly deployable force comprising four principal elements: a command component, a ground combat element, an aviation combat element, and a logistics combat element. These units are commonly tasked with humanitarian assistance, evacuation missions, amphibious operations, crisis response, and other rapid military deployments.
The latest deployment comes amid continued uncertainty over U.S.-Iran diplomatic efforts and heightened regional tensions.
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