(Kyle Anzalone, Antiwar.com) A US official said Washington plans to send a third aircraft carrier and an additional Marine division to the Middle East.
Last month, The Atlantic reported the USS Theodore Roosevelt was preparing to deploy to the Middle East, with the Department of War preparing to maintain two aircraft carrier strike groups in the region before the end of the year, suggesting the Roosevelt would replace the USS George H.W. Bush, which had been in the region since April.
However, Al Jazeera Arabic spoke with a US official on Thursday who said the Pentagon now plans to keep three aircraft carrier strike groups in the Middle East. The Bush will continue its deployment alongside the USS George Washington, with hopes the Roosevelt will arrive by late November.
In addition to the Roosevelt, the US official speaking with The Jerusalem Post said that President Donald Trump was also ordering an additional division of Marines to the Middle East.
In an interview with Time magazine published on Thursday, Trump said it was possible he would order an attack on Iran after the midterm election.
Reuters reported speaking with three senior Iranian officials who said Tehran was preparing to significantly escalate the conflict if the US resumes attacks on the Islamic Republic.
The Roosevelt will be the fifth aircraft carrier used during the war against Iran that began in February. Trump deployed two other aircraft carrier strike groups to the region during the 12-day war last year.
The war has strained the American Navy. The USS Abraham Lincoln left the Middle East in August after an extraordinarily long deployment to the region and is now returning to California.
This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.
