Iran War - US officials say thousands of marines and assault ship on way to region | BBC News

It is being reported that the United States is preparing to send additional forces to the Middle East as the war with Iran enters its third week . Thousands of US Marines are expected to be sent , though it's not yet clear how they would be deployed . President Trump said today that the Islamic Republic will be hit very hard over the next week . Let's go straight to Washington and our State Department correspondent Tom Baitman . What more do we know about these deployments ? Sophie, this is a deployment of the USS Tripoli , which is an amphibious assault ship alongside up to 5,000 troops , about half of which, it is thought, will be US uh marines . Now, this is a task force that is trained in things like carrying out uh amphibious landings, uh securing maritime choke hold . exactly the kind of situation that the uh global shipping industry is currently facing in the straight of Hormuz . Now, this is not a public official announcement by the Trump administration He says, "We will not back down in any way." But many Iranians are very afraid as the human cost of this war and the humanitarian consequences grow . This was footage released by the Iranian Red Crescent today . It's a residential neighborhood with a narrow alley . Rescuers are working to find anyone still alive as quickly as possible . The Red Crescent says nearly 20,000 homes have now been damaged along with businesses, schools, and 16 of its own facilities . Iranians are continuing to flee . More than 3 million of them have left their homes so far , according to the UN. at Turkeykey's border with Iran . One man said bombs were raining down on his homeland near the central city of Isvahan . One glimpse into the intensity of the bombardment . The man filming is clearly happy to see . Duck down, someone says, as air strike follows air strike