The United States is deploying a third aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East as President Donald Trump warned that further strikes against Iran remain possible after the November midterm elections.
The deployment includes the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and the USS Makin Island amphibious readiness group, carrying more than 7,000 sailors and 2,000 Marines.
A US official said the move could bring three American aircraft carriers into the region by the end of October, raising the number of US sailors and Marines in the Middle East to more than 20,000, alongside hundreds of aircraft.
The USS George H.W. Bush and USS George Washington are currently in the region, with the USS Boxer amphibious readiness group also deployed there.
In a Time magazine interview, Trump said it was “possible” he could intensify bombing in Iran after the November 3 midterm elections, but declined to provide details about any potential military strategy.
Trump also said he rejected Iran’s latest ceasefire proposal, including an offer to open the Strait of Hormuz, describing the overall proposal as inadequate.
Asked whether the increasingly unpopular war could affect Republican prospects in the midterm elections, Trump initially said, “It’s possible,” before arguing that the conflict could benefit Republicans because Iran would not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons.
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