Operation Epic Fury has entered a new phase as 3,500 sailors and Marines have arrived in the Middle East.
U.S. Central Command made the announcement Saturday and comes on the heels of President Donald Trump declaring last week “very strong talks” were underway to end the war in Iran, per Mediaite.
Also on Saturday, the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen launched an “unsuccessful” missile attack on Israel.
The New York Times reported, “There has long been concern that if the Houthis were to enter the war, the group could seek to disrupt global shipping through the Red Sea, which it has done previously by firing on passing ships.”
“Meanwhile…at least 10 U.S.. Service members have been reported injured after an Iranian attack on a U.S. Base in Saudi Arabia,” CNN’s Omar Jimenez reported.
Trump spoke at a Saudi-based investment conference in Miami Friday and said, “We have another 3,554 targets left, and that will be done pretty quickly.”
“I’m not saying — It’s sort of finished, but it’s not finished. It’s got to be finished,” he added.
CNN’s Julia Benbrook reported on Saturday evening.
“Trump also said that the Iranians are begging to make a deal right now. Some of the other featured speakers at that conference included Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as well as Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who of course played a crucial role here. They led multiple rounds of talks prior to those first strikes, and Witkoff did say that he’s hopeful that there will be some conversations this week,” she said.
Benbrook added Trump jokingly referred to the crucial Strait of Hormuz as the “Strait of Trump.” That is where 20% of the world’s oil passes through.
“That has been at a near complete halt,” Benbrook said. “But he has demanded that that waterway fully reopen, or that the United States would obliterate Iran’s power plants. He had set a date. He then pushed that for another 10 days. It sets at April 6th right now.”
