USS Tripoli drops off Okinawa-based Marines following return from Iran war

OKINAWA, Japan — The amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli pulled into White Beach Naval Facility here on Wednesday to offload its contingent of Marines, concluding a six-month deployment that included four months in support of the war against Iran.

The Tripoli and its amphibious ready group — the transport dock ship USS New Orleans and the dock landing ship USS Rushmore — pivoted from a routine deployment in mid-March to the northern Arabian Sea in support of Operation Epic Fury.

Under Central Command, the group supported the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, carried out precision strikes and refueled hundreds of aircraft, according to a Wednesday news release from Expeditionary Strike Group 7.

“The Tripoli [Amphibious Ready Group] and 31st MEU are built to pivot immediately to wherever our nation needs us most, demonstrating the unique value of our forward-deployed naval expeditionary forces,” strike group spokesman Lt. Mohammad Issa told Stars and Stripes by email Wednesday.

The three ships of the Tripoli group are homeported at Sasebo Naval Base on Kyushu. The group’s 2,500 Marines of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit are based on Okinawa.

The amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli returns to White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, July 22, 2026, following a four-month stint supporting the war with Iran. (Ryan M. Breeden/Stars and Stripes)

Together they logged more than 1,600 hours of combat aviation missions and transported more than 800,000 pounds of cargo during the deployment, according to the news release.

The Tripoli as of 2 p.m. Wednesday was offloading its Marines in a “plan that ensures the safest, most efficient return of our Sailors, Marines, and tactical equipment,” Issa wrote.

The 31st MEU is one of seven Marine expeditionary units and the only one permanently deployed in the Indo-Pacific. It features a combination of air, ground and support elements designed to quickly respond to combat and noncombat situations.

In April, Marines with the ready group boarded at least two commercial ships suspected of trying to run the U.S. blockade.

They also boarded and seized the Iranian-flagged container ship M/V Touska, according to a series of photos and videos from Central Command. The guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance disabled the Touska’s engines after it failed to comply with repeated warnings over a six-hour period on April 19.

Just ahead of its departure to the Middle East, the ready group also participated in Iron Fist alongside the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. The Feb. 23-March 9 exercise included maritime maneuvers, landing operations and ground combat exercises.