US sending third carrier, about 10,000 more troops to Middle East as Iran tensions persist: Report
The US is reportedly sending a third aircraft-carrier strike group and additional Marine Corps ships to the Middle East, adding about 9,000 to 10,000 troops to the region as tensions with Iran remain high.The ships, fighter jets, Marines and sailors are expected to arrive in the region by the end of November, reported The Wall Street Journal. The deployment comes even as there has been a relative lull in direct fighting between the US and Iran in recent days, with Washington continuing to prepare for the possibility of renewed hostilities.The USS Theodore Roosevelt left its home port in San Diego on Sunday on a scheduled deployment, while the USS Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group departed on Monday. The group comprises three amphibious ships carrying Marines from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The crew of the Theodore Roosevelt is preparing for a longer-than-normal deployment, according to senior Navy officialsThe Roosevelt’s arrival would add another carrier strike group to a US naval force that already includes the USS George HW Bush and USS George Washington, which are in the Middle East. If the Washington remains in the region when the Roosevelt arrives, the US would have three carrier strike groups there for the first time since April.The three-carrier presence may not be permanent, however. The George Washington could leave the region and return to its home port in Japan. Ships from the USS Boxer Amphibious Ready Group are also in the Middle East.The additional personnel would join more than 50,000 US troops already stationed across the region, according to one US official cited by the Journal.The buildup comes as President Donald Trump continues to leave open the possibility of resuming strikes on Iran. In a TIME interview published Thursday, Trump said it was “possible” the US could resume bombing Iran after the November midterm elections if there is no deal with Tehran. The Wall Street Journal has separately reported that Trump recently told aides he expects bombing Iran to resume in November.Trump’s comments came days after he rejected Iran’s latest proposal for a seven-day ceasefire. The proposal called for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the resumption of talks over Iran’s nuclear programme in return for the US lifting its blockade of Iranian ports.The Strait of Hormuz remains a key point of tension between Washington and Tehran. About a fifth of the world’s oil normally passes through the waterway. The US has maintained about 20 Navy ships in the region in recent months to enforce its blockade and help escort commercial vessels travelling through the strait, according to Navy officials.The Pentagon has also extended deployments of other forces that could be involved in any renewed conflict, including air-defence units designed to counter Iranian missiles and drones and the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division. The 82nd can carry out a range of missions, including securing airfields and deploying into hostile territory.The additional deployments will further stretch the US Navy, which has faced supply shortages and near-record deployment levels during the conflict. Iran has also fired ballistic missiles at US warships in recent weeks, according to the Journal.
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