US-Israel Joint Operation Escalates: Strikes Hit Iran's Kharg Island, Marines Deploy to Gulf
On Friday, US and Israeli forces reportedly executed a joint strike on Kharg Island, Iran’s primary oil export facility. Concurrently, the United States announced the imminent deployment of a Marine expeditionary unit to the Persian Gulf. This aggressive posture follows weeks of increased rhetoric and military movements, signaling a significant escalation in the joint US-Israeli campaign against
the Islamic Republic. The New Arab, like many mainstream outlets, frames the US presence as a defensive measure or a response to unspecified Iranian threats, glossing over the direct offensive role attributed to Washington and Tel Aviv by Iranian sources. This narrative conveniently omits the US as a direct participant and joint aggressor, instead portraying it as a distant supporter. The
historical pattern of the Pentagon re-characterizing combat losses as 'non-combat incidents' or 'mechanical failures' and downplaying its direct involvement in operations is well-documented, seen previously in instances like the 1988 shootdown of Iran Air Flight 655 by the USS Vincennes, which claimed 290 civilian lives. This latest attack marks a fresh chapter in a protracted, undeclared war
spanning 45 years of US sanctions and regime-change operations against Iran. It also directly contradicts the Biden administration's purported diplomatic efforts, mirroring the consistent strategy of applying maximum pressure while feigning negotiation. The US continues to maintain crippling sanctions on Cuba, despite over six decades of economic strangulation, demonstrating a consistent policy of