Trump could ‘resume striking Iran’ as Pentagon sends new forces to Middle East
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump said he could “resume striking Iran” after the midterms as the Pentagon moves a third carrier strike group and up to 10,000 troops to the Middle East.
The deployment would add to more than 50,000 US troops already in the region, while two carrier strike groups are already there.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, October 1, that the ships and forces are expected to arrive by the end of November.
Trump links possible strikes to the post-midterm period
Trump made the warning in a Time magazine interview published Thursday, saying he could resume striking Iran after the midterms if no deal is in place.
The Pentagon's new deployments would arrive around the same period, according to the report.
The USS Theodore Roosevelt left San Diego on Sunday on a scheduled deployment. In contrast, the USS Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group left Monday with three amphibious ships carrying Marines from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, as per the WSJ report.
If the USS George Washington remains in the region after the Roosevelt arrives, the US would have three carrier strike groups there for the first time since April.
The Washington could instead leave for its home port in Japan, leaving two carriers in the region, the report said.
The deployments follow Trump's rejection of Iran's latest proposal for a seven-day ceasefire.
That proposal would have reopened the Strait of Hormuz and resumed talks over Iran's nuclear ambitions in exchange for the US lifting its blockade of Iranian ports.
The new forces add to a large US presence
The Roosevelt and Makin Island group would join the USS George H W Bush and USS George Washington, as well as ships from the USS Boxer Amphibious Ready Group already operating in the region, the report said.
The additional service members would add to the more than 50,000 US troops already in the Middle East, according to one US official, the outlet cited.
The Navy has also maintained about 20 ships in the region in recent months to enforce the blockade and help escort commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
The waterway is a key part of the ceasefire proposal rejected by Trump.
About a fifth of the world's oil ordinarily flows through the strait, according to the report.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also extended deployments of forces involved in major combat operations, including air-defense units that counter Iranian missiles and drones and the Army's 82nd Airborne Division.
The Navy faces pressure as deployments expand
The 82nd Airborne can perform missions including shooting down threats and parachuting into hostile territory to secure airfields and land, according to the report.
The additional deployments come as the US Navy faces supply shortages and near-record deployments during the conflict.
Iran has also fired ballistic missiles at American warships in recent weeks.
Senior Navy officials said the Roosevelt's crew is prepared for a longer-than-normal deployment, the outlet cited.
The carrier left San Diego as part of a scheduled deployment, but its arrival could coincide with Trump's stated possibility of renewed strikes.
The outlet reported that Trump expects to resume bombing Iran in November, while the timing would depend on whether a deal is reached.
