WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is planning a potential surge of American naval forces in the Middle East that could place as many as three aircraft carrier strike groups in the region, the Washington Post reported Friday, giving President Donald Trump the option to resume large-scale operations against Iran.
The Wall Street Journal independently confirmed actual deployments already underway: the Pentagon is sending a third carrier strike group and a Marine expeditionary unit, along with 9,000 to 10,000 additional troops, with arrivals expected by the end of November. The USS Theodore Roosevelt sailed from San Diego on Sunday, and the USS Makin Island amphibious ready group departed Monday, according to U.S. officials cited by the Journal.
The USS George H.W. Bush and the USS George Washington are already in the Middle East, and the USS Boxer amphibious ready group is also in the region. If the Washington remains after the Roosevelt arrives, the United States would have three carrier strike groups in the region for the first time since April, the Journal reported.
The buildup comes as Trump told Time magazine in an interview published Oct. 1 that renewed bombing of Iran after the Nov. 3 midterm elections was “possible” or “likely.” He has also turned down Tehran’s latest ceasefire proposal — which included an offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz — calling the terms insufficient.
Reuters has reported that Iran’s leaders have instructed allied armed groups to prepare a coordinated response in the event of new American strikes. The White House and the Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment, the Journal said.
The U.S.-Iran conflict, which began Feb. 28, has seen a fragile ceasefire collapse after earlier fighting this year. Trump on Friday accused Tehran of violating the ceasefire after reported Iranian strikes hit Bahrain and Kuwait, sharply raising the risk of a wider regional war.
