Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corva Coleman.
Thousands of U.S. Paratroopers and Marines are deploying to the Middle East.
This comes as President Trump weighs whether to seize Karg Island.
NPR's Jackie Northam reports.
That's home to Iran's main oil processing facility.
Karg Island in the Persian Gulf is considered an economic lifeline for Iran.
More than 90 percent of its oil exports are funneled through the tiny island.
The buildup of troops heading to the Middle East is fueling speculation that the U.S.
Might try to seize and hold Karg Island.
Caitlin Talmadge, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, says that would be militarily challenging.
Inserting U.S. Forces so close to Iran's shores would be risky and carry the potential for casualties.
Iran has warned it will launch retaliatory strikes against energy infrastructures in the region if Karg Island
is attacked, which could send world energy prices soaring.
Jackie Northam, NPR News.
Senate Democrats have blocked a Republican plan to end the partial shutdown of the Homeland Security Department.
It would have funded the agency, including TSA agents who are not getting paid.
But Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin says the GOP plan failed to address demands about federal immigration officers in the wake
of the killings of two Minneapolis protesters.
We have differences of opinion when it comes to ICE and standards that they'll live by.
But we ought to separate out all the others and fully fund them.