South Korea is considering expanding its military operations in the Middle East because this United States ally is facing pressure from Donald Trump to provide support in the war against Iran.

On Thursday, the newspaper “Kyunghyang Shinmun” reported, without naming its sources, that Seoul is evaluating the expansion of the operational area of the anti-piracy naval unit “Cheonghae.” This operational expansion would cover the Sea of Oman to the east of the Strait of Hormuz.

This unit has been deployed since 2009 to counter piracy in the Gulf of Aden.