US To Send More Troops To Middle East As Iran Ceasefire Nears End: Report

The United States will be sending additional troops to the Middle East in the days ahead even as negotiations between Washington and Tehran could resume this weekend. 

According to a report by The Washington Post, 6,000 troops aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush with warships and about 4,200 Navy and Marine personnel aboard the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group, along with its embarked Marine task force, the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, are expected to arrive in the region by the end of the month.

With the current two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran scheduled to expire on April 22, the new troops will join the estimated 50,000 personnel that the Pentagon has said are involved in operations countering Iran.

Trump Says Iran War Could End "Very Soon"

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday told Fox Business that the war in Iran could end soon and that gas prices will "go down tremendously" once the conflict is settled.

"I think it can be over very soon. If they're smart, it will end soon," he said in an interview on "Mornings With Maria Bartiromo."

US' Blockade Of Iranian Ports

Trump announced a naval blockade of Iranian ports on Sunday after the collapse of 21-hour high-level peace talks in Islamabad between the US and Iran.

Meanwhile, the Iranian military has stated that the current US naval blockade of Iranian ports constitutes a "prelude" to a ceasefire violation. 

In a statement carried by Iranian state television, the head of Iran's military central command centre said that if the US continues with its blockade, it will create "insecurity for Iran's commercial vessels and oil tankers", which will constitute "a prelude" to violating the ceasefire. 

"The powerful armed forces of the Islamic republic will not allow any exports or imports to continue in the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman, and the Red Sea," said Ali Abdollahi.

Since the war in Iran started, Tehran has been shipping its oil and goods freely through the narrow waterway, while sharply curbing seaborne traffic from other nations, especially those deemed unfriendly by the Islamic Republic.

The US military is now planning to track down any Iranian ship crossing the Strait and physically board it, if necessary.

The US Central Command, in a statement, said a blockade of Iranian ports has been fully implemented as US forces maintain maritime superiority in the Middle East. 

"An estimated 90 per cent of Iran's economy is fuelled by international trade by sea. In less than 36 hours since the blockade was implemented, US forces have completely halted economic trade going into and out of Iran by sea."