UK to Send Marines to Persian Gulf Region to Protect Country’s Vessels – Reports

The United Kingdom decided to send 100 marines to the Persian Gulf region in order to protect its military and merchant vessels after the recent incident in the Gulf of Oman, local media reported on Sunday.

On Thursday, two oil tankers, Kokuka Courageous and Front Altair, suffered explosions and fires in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz. Causes of the incident remain unknown.

According to The Sunday Times newspaper, marines from 42 Commando based near the city of Plymouth will form the Special Purpose Task Group 19 that will patrol the Persian Gulf region from the UK naval base in Bahrain, which was opened last year.

On Friday, the UK Foreign Office accused the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps of attacking tankers in the Gulf of Oman. A day earlier, the similar remarks were made by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Tehran refuted the accusations, while Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov warned against attempts to lay the blame on Iran before any thorough investigation into the incident.