Thousands of US Marines are scheduled to arrive in the Middle East on Friday, coinciding with President Donald Trump’s deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing two US officials.
According to the report, the Japan-based amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli and the amphibious landing dock USS New Orleans will cross into US Central Command on Friday, bringing roughly 2,200 Marines to the region.
The officials told the Wall Street Journal it would take several additional days for the unit to reach the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump on Saturday issued an ultimatum to Iran, demanding that it reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours or face strikes on its power plants.
That ultimatum was set to expire on Monday, but Trump announced it would be extended in order to allow for talks between the US and Iran.
Trump stated that the US is reaching out to “very solid" figures inside Iran to conduct the talks. Subsequent reports indicated that Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, was representing Iran in the talks with the US, but Ghalibaf denied there were any talks at all.
"Our people demand the complete and humiliating punishment of the aggressors. All officials stand firmly behind their Leader and people until this goal is achieved," Ghalibaf wrote on social media.
According to the speaker, "No negotiations with America have taken place. Fake news is intended to manipulate financial and oil markets and to escape the quagmire in which America and Israel are trapped."