The massive U.S. military deployment in the Middle East includes 50,000 troops, F-35s and Marines to put pressure on Tehran.
Published October 2, 2026
The United States is deploying a third aircraft carrier in waters around Iran, a U.S. official told Al Jazeera, as the war enters its eighth month and both sides consider escalation and diplomatic engagement.
The official told Al Jazeera that the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier strike group left the San Diego base for the area on Sunday, followed the next day by the Makin Island Marine Expeditionary Force carrying more than 2,000 Marines.
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The official said three aircraft carriers and two amphibious landing forces would be deployed around Iran by the end of November.
The official said the concentration of military power would give President Donald Trump a wider range of options if he decides to act.
Al Jazeera’s Tanya Nowry reported from Washington that the new deployment includes thousands of troops and additional air power, including F-35 fighter jets, on top of the roughly 50,000 U.S. military personnel already stationed in the region.
Nouri, citing sources inside the Pentagon and White House, said the goal is to keep President Trump’s military options “on the table” regardless of diplomatic developments, and that the Pentagon has no intention of withdrawing assets even if a deal is reached with Iran. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the military is “ready to deploy” if President Trump orders a new attack.
Trump himself has continued to make threats in public. He told Fox News that he believed the US would “win” a war with Iran “soon”, while in other remarks he suggested a return to military action was “possible” but he did not want to commit before November’s midterm elections.
In a combination of a show of force and new economic pressure, Washington imposed sanctions on Iran’s rail and auto conglomerates this week, as the Treasury Department called the new measures an effort to drain Tehran’s remaining revenue.
diplomatic truck
Alongside its military buildup, Iran is pushing through Qatar for a seven-day roadmap to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume nuclear negotiations in exchange for lifting the U.S. naval blockade, easing sanctions and a regional ceasefire covering Lebanon and Yemen.
The plan was later vetoed by President Trump.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Walz told NBC that the demands for frozen funds and a plan for sanctions relief are non-negotiable, pointing out that “these are not just U.S. sanctions…these are global sanctions,” citing seven U.N. Security Council resolutions against Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
Meanwhile, Iran’s response was similarly two-pronged.
After Foreign Minister Abbas Aragushi told NBC that the Iranian government was “fully prepared” to resume war, he wrote to X: “We did not come to New York to sell war. We came to build peace.”
Analysts say the mixed signals are intentional.
Abbas Aslani of the Middle East Center for Strategic Studies said the debate had shifted from whether to negotiate to “who will give up primary leverage first,” while former U.S. ambassador Richard Schmierer said Trump was caught between delaying the passage of midterm elections and the political costs of offering concessions mirroring the already-criticized June deal.
Nearly 70% of Americans now say the war wasn’t worth fighting, according to the latest Associated Press/NORC poll, and President Trump is ignoring his declining approval ratings by claiming that the polling agencies are corrupt.
