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, according to AFP.
They arrived on board the USS Bataan and USS Carter Hall warships, providing "greater flexibility and maritime capability" to the Fifth Fleet, the statement added.
The deployment comes after Washington claimed its forces blocked two attempts by Iran to seize commercial tankers in international waters off Oman on July 5.
Earlier on July 7, Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) said in a statement that the Richmond Voyager had ignored basic international maritime laws by escaping the scene of a collision with an Iranian vessel after an incident that happened in international waters in southern Iran a day earlier.
The statement said five people had been seriously injured in the collision between the Bahamas-flagged tanker and the Iranian ship which was carrying seven crew members when the incident took place. It added that the incident had caused flooding on board the Iranian vessel.
The PMO said Iranian Navy forces then sought to seize the ship based on a court order and upon a request by the owner of the damaged ship.
“The ship rerouted and entered the territorial waters of Oman without heeding warnings and cautions issued by the Iranian Navy,” it said, adding that Iran has informed Omani authorities of the case and will continue efforts to confiscate the ship because of its violation of international maritime laws.
SD/PR