US combat ships, likely en route to join war on Iran, make ‘logistical stops’ at Penang port

As President Donald Trump continuously rants against Western allies for their reluctance to join the US-Israeli agression on Iran, the presence of two American warships at a Malaysian port is set to raise questions about where Putrajaya stands in the current war.

On Sunday, Penang-based military aviation tracker Sherwynd Kessler posted photographs of two littoral combat ships (LCS) – USS Tulsa and USS Santa Barbara – docked at North Butterworth Container Terminal, some 5,600 km from the Persian Gulf.

Both ships belong to the US Navy and were assigned to minesweeping duties in the Persian Gulf before the war.

The US Navy’s 5th Fleet confirmed to CNN that the presence of the two ships in Penang was part of “brief logistical stops”.

“US forces routinely make port calls in Malaysia as part of our operations, reflecting the close and enduring military cooperation between the United States and Malaysia,” a spokesman for the US Navy’s 5th Fleet told CNN, adding that he would not comment on any future operations for the two ships.

While it is not unusual for US warships to make stopovers at Malaysian ports, the timing of the latest sightings will certainly raise questions about where Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government stands in the US-Israeli war against Iran.

Just days after  Anwar signed the heavily criticised Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) with Trump last October, Putrajaya entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Pentagon on defence cooperation, with plans for bilateral agreements on communications and information sharing.

This was followed by an invitation to Defence Minister Khaled Nordin to visit the Pentagon from his counterpart Pete Hegseth, who, alongside Trump, is the main face of the current US-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran, which has sparked a regional war, killed thousands of civilians, and displaced more than three million people across the Middle East.

There are also concerns that any Malaysian involvement, even remotely, could be interpreted by Tehran as aiding its enemies, something that could put its interests in the Middle East a legitimate target for Iran.

Iran has launched missile and drone attacks targeting Washington's allies, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Bahrain, resulting in widespread disruption of commerce and air travel in the region and paralysing Gulf economies.

Yesterday, Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani questioned Muslim governments that remain silent in the wake of the US-Israeli onslaught against Tehran.

“The confrontation today is, in reality, between America and Israel on one side, and Muslim Iran and the forces of resistance on the other. Which side are you on, then?” he reportedly said.

Combat ships most likely heading to the Gulf

Meanwhile, CNN quoted aviation spotter Kessler as saying that he had not seen the ships docked at the port before.

In his Instagram post, Kessler said the ships, each stationed in Bahrain and Japan, were designed “to conduct missions that include mine countermeasures, surface warfare, and maritime security patrols”.

According to CNN, the US announced last year that it would be using LCS to replace four minesweeping ships in the Persian Gulf that were decommissioned last year.

This makes it highly likely that the two ships are en route to the Gulf to reinforce the US fleet there, where ships carrying oil for the US and its allies are stuck after Iran strengthened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow but busy passage that carries about 20% of crude oil out of the Middle East to the world.

The blockage has been blamed for a sharp spike in global oil prices, with consumers in the US and Europe bearing the brunt as petrol and diesel are retailing at their highest since the outbreak of the Ukraine war in 2022.

The US has previously said that Iran has laid mines in the Strait of Hormuz, and Trump has today disparaged NATO and Western allies for failing to help the US secure the vital waterway.