More US troops arrive in Mideast, Houthis also enter the war; as top regional diplomats gather in Islamabad

NEW YORK, Mar 28 (APP): Thousands of US sailors and marines arrived in the Middle East Friday, US Central Command announced in a post on X, as the Pentagon weighs its next steps in the US-Israel war on Iran a month after it started.

It is unclear where exactly the troops are going, but speculation in the US is mounting they may be assigned to take Iran’s Kharg Island, the primary hub for Iran’s oil exports.

Meanwhile, the war further expanded as Yemen’s Houthi fighters launched a second missile toward Israel, hours after a first attack that marked the group’s entry into the conflict, according to CNN, an American TV network.

In Islamabad, regional countries are set to meet Sunday to discuss how to end the fighting, which has threatened global supplies of oil, natural gas and fertilizer and disrupted air travel.

Iran’s grip on the strategic Strait of Hormuz has shaken markets and prices. The United States and Israel continue to strike Iran, whose retaliatory attacks have targeted Israel and neighbouring Gulf Arab states. Over 3,000 people have been killed, mainly in Iran where civilian targets have come under attack.

On the other hand, authorities battled a massive blaze at Kuwait International Airport after a drone attack hit fuel tanks there, the Kuwaiti army said.

CNN said it geolocated several videos which show damaged buildings at an engineering university in Tehran after it was struck overnight.

Across the region, falling debris from a missile interception injured 11 people and damaged several buildings in Eshtaol, central Israel, according to medi reports.

The residence of the president of Iraqi Kurdistan was targeted in an attack, according to the prime minister’s media office.

A major global aluminum company reported its smelter site suffered “significant damage” from Iranian missile and drone attacks on Abu Dhabi.

Even though US President Donald Trump has said there are “very strong talks” underway with Iran on a diplomatic solution, a series of strikes on Friday and Saturday gave no indication the fighting was ebbing.

While there were no reports of casualties in the Houthis’ ballistic missile attack on Israel, the group, which controls much of Yemen, could further rattle global markets, according to analysts. During the war in Gaza, the Houthis disrupted international shipping by menacing vessels in the Red Sea. Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesman, said that the attacks from Yemen would continue “until the aggression ends.”

The 2,500 Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit who have been dispatched by President Trump to the Middle East are part of the U.S.S. Tripoli amphibious ready group, accompanied by 2,500 sailors, U.S. military officials said.

Usually based in Okinawa, Japan, the Marines are expected to be part of Trump’s effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iranian forces have mostly closed. Though American officials claim that the Iranian Navy has been largely crippled by the U.S. and Israeli bombing campaign, they said Iran can still deploy fast boats with mines or explosives from the strait’s rugged coastline or small islands.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday the United States did not need ground troops to achieve its goals in Iran and predicted the war would be over within weeks, not months.

But President Trump has not ruled it out using Marines or special forces.

APP/ift