U.S. sends a third aircraft carrier and 10,000 additional troops to the Middle East

The United States is increasing its military presence in the Middle East, sending a third aircraft carrier and additional Navy ships to the region. The deployment of additional forces will raise the U.S. presence in the region by 9,000 to 10,000 troops, while U.S. President Donald Trump is considering resuming bombing strikes on Iran after the midterm elections.

The new strike group is expected to arrive in the Middle East by the end of November, according to U.S. officials. Trump has told aides he expects to resume bombing strikes on Iran later that month, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt sailed from its base in San Diego on Sunday as part of a planned deployment, while the USS Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, consisting of three amphibious ships and carrying Marines from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, sailed on Monday. Two aircraft carriers, USS George H.W. Bush and USS George Washington, are already in the Middle East. If Washington remains in the region after the Roosevelt’s arrival, U.S. forces will have three strike groups for the first time since April. At that time, Iran and the United States had reached a fragile ceasefire that temporarily ended hostilities that had begun on February 28. The ceasefire broke down and the two sides have been engaged in intermittent clashes ever since.

In addition to the two aircraft carriers, ships from the USS Boxer Amphibious Ready Group are also currently in the Middle East. The additional troops to be transferred to the ships that sailed this week will be added to the more than 50,000 U.S. troops already in the region, one of the officials said.

However, it is possible that the USS Washington will depart and return to its base in Japan, which would bring the number of U.S. aircraft carriers back to two.