The United States is sending a third aircraft carrier and an amphibious assault group to the Middle East, adding nearly 10,000 personnel to a region where it is already engaged in a war with Iran. According to US officials cited by international news agencies and American media, the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group left San Diego, on the California coast, on Sunday. The amphibious ready group led by the USS Makin Island followed a day later. Together they carry more than 7,000 sailors and about 2,000 Marines.
The Associated Press, citing a source, said the ships could reach the region by the end of October, while the Wall Street Journal and others point to the end of November. The USS George H.W. Bush and USS George Washington are already operating in the Arabian Sea, and the USS Boxer amphibious group is also in the theatre. The Theodore Roosevelt is scheduled to relieve the George Washington, which is normally based in Japan. Whether the older ship leaves before the new one arrives will decide if three carriers are briefly present at once, so it remains unclear whether this is a lasting increase or a temporary overlap during rotation. If all three overlap, US troop numbers in the region would exceed 50,000, according to the Wall Street Journal. One US official said leaders would have "many options for dealing with Iran."
The deployment comes as President Donald Trump keeps threatening Iran. In an interview with Time magazine, he said it was "possible" he would step up bombing after the US midterm elections on 3 November, without giving details. He also claimed, without evidence, that Iran was involved in a foiled suspected terror attack on a FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, in which an Omani co-pilot stabbed the captain. He promised a very hard response if Iranian involvement is established. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was too early to conclude that Iran was behind the attack, and the co-pilot's possible links to Tehran are being investigated.
The war began in late February with US and Israeli strikes on Iran. A ceasefire agreed in June held only briefly before fighting resumed. Trump rejected a new Iranian ceasefire proposal this week, and Tehran said on Wednesday it had received an official US response but gave no details.
The conflict has had global economic effects. Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula and one of the world's key routes for oil exports, has fallen sharply. Iran demands control over the strait, while the US is trying to enforce a blockade of Iranian ships. Energy prices have risen as a result: petrol in the Netherlands hit a record 2.73 euros per litre in late September, and prices remain near record levels. In the United States, discontent over the war's economic consequences persists, adding political weight to decisions on further military action.