The military buildup raises the risk of further escalation in a conflict that has already disrupted tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for roughly a fifth of global oil flows before the war began. Continued Iranian attacks on commercial vessels transiting the strait, combined with Houthi threats in the Red Sea, keep a geopolitical risk premium embedded in oil prices and elevate freight and insurance costs for shipping through the region. Any move toward strikes on Iranian infrastructure, as floated by President Trump, would likely trigger a sharper reaction in crude markets given the potential for direct retaliation against energy assets or further disruption to the strait. Congressional approval of additional war funding signals Washington's intent to sustain, rather than wind down, its military posture in the Gulf for now.---Earlier, the second front ineveitably opening up:UK military report yet another tanker has been struck, this time in the Red SeaThe US is massing forces in the Middle East, giving Trump more room to escalate against Iran as the war's costs mount.Summary:US is surging special operations forces, jet fighters, bombers and medics toward the Middle EastBuildup follows the deaths of three US soldiers in an Iranian attack in Jordan, plus a fourth killed in IraqWar's cost has surpassed $37bln, according to Defense Secretary HegsethOver 150 medics have arrived at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in GermanyHouse passed a $95bln budget framework including an extra $73bln in defense and intelligence fundingTrump has threatened to strike Iranian infrastructure over attacks on Gulf shippingThe United States is surging forces, medics and weaponry toward the Middle East to give President Trump broader military options as he weighs expanding the war against Iran, according to the Wall Street Journal (gated), which cited people familiar with the matter. The buildup includes special operations forces redeployed to the region, squadrons of jet fighters staged across the Middle East, and bomber aircraft on high alert in the US and UK.The Journal reported that more than 150 medics have arrived in recent days at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, the primary facility for treating US troops wounded in Middle East combat. The preparations follow the deaths of three American soldiers in an Iranian attack in Jordan over the weekend, with a fourth servicemember killed in Iraq during the controlled detonation of an Iranian drone. A former US Central Command chief cautioned that the surge itself does not guarantee major new operations, framing it instead as giving military leaders greater flexibility.The moves come as concern grows in Washington over the war's cost, which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Congress this week has surpassed $37bln, and over the strain a return to full scale conflict would place on US munitions stocks and global oil supply, given ongoing Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and Houthi threats in the Red Sea. The House nonetheless voted narrowly to approve a $95bln budget framework that includes an extra $73bln in defense and intelligence funding, alongside a separate defense policy bill that passed with little Democratic support.Trump and Hegseth have defended the conflict, now in its fifth month, as necessary to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, and Trump has warned he would target Iranian infrastructure such as bridges or power plants in response to further attacks on vessels transiting the strait. Despite a fragile ceasefire in place since April, 18 US troops have been killed and hundreds wounded over the course of the war, and Iranian officials have vowed to keep striking US forces and partners across the Gulf. This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.