Thousands Of US Troops Reach Red Sea After Iran Tensions

Handout photo dated June 24, 2020 shows the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5), left, the French navy frigate FS Guepratte (F714), the French navy amphibious assault ship FS Mistral (L9013) and the Italian navy amphibious transport dock ship ITS San Giorgio (L9892) are underway in formation as part of a maritime training exercise in the Mediterranean Sea. More than 3,000 United States military personnel have arrived in the Red Sea aboard two warships, part of a beefed up response from Washington after tanker seizures by Iran, the US Navy said Monday. The US sailors and Marines entered the Red Sea on Sunday after transiting through the Suez Canal in a pre-announced deployment, the US Navy's Fifth Fleet said in a statement. They arrived on board the USS Bataan and USS Carter Hall warships, providing "greater flexibility and maritime capability" to the Fifth Fleet, the statement from the Bahrain-based command added. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Lenny Weston via AB