As the war enters its eighth month and both sides consider escalation and diplomatic engagement, the United States is sending its third aircraft carrier strike group to Middle Eastern waters close to Iran, a US official told Al Jazeera.
Thousands more troops are also being sent to the region just a month before the U.S. midterm elections in November, in what could be a major blow to President Donald Trump’s Republican Party over a deeply unpopular response to the war in the United States.
Recommended stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
We consider what the latest military deployment means and whether it signals a future escalation of the war against Iran.
What troops and military equipment were deployed?
U.S. officials told Al Jazeera that the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier strike group departed from the base in San Diego on Sunday and headed to the region, followed the next day by the Makin Island Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) carrying more than 2,000 Marines.
The Wall Street Journal reported that a total of 9,000 to 10,000 additional U.S. soldiers could participate in the strike group and Navy deployments, including sailors and Marines assigned to carrier strike groups and other ships.
The official said three aircraft carriers and two amphibious landing forces would be deployed near 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, reporting from Washington, said the new deployments, including F-35 jets, would add to the roughly 50,000 U.S. military personnel already stationed in the region.
Nouri, citing sources within the Pentagon and the White House, said the goal for President Trump is to keep military options “on the table,” regardless of how diplomacy unfolds. The Pentagon currently has no plans to withdraw 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.
What kind of power does the United States already have in the Middle East?
The United States has stationed troops and military assets in bases in the Middle East for decades.
The United States operates through an extensive network of permanent and temporary military bases in at least 19 locations in the region, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
Eight of these are permanent bases and are located in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
The United States first sent troops to the Middle East in July 1958, when combat troops were sent to Beirut during the Lebanon crisis. At its peak, there were approximately 15,000 Marines and soldiers in Lebanon.
As of mid-2025, there are between 40,000 and 50,000 U.S. military personnel stationed around the Middle East, both in large permanent bases and in smaller forward-line outposts throughout the region.
President Trump has been ramping up the U.S. military presence in the Middle East since the beginning of this year, initially sending warships to the Arabian Sea, including the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln.
What military assets and troops did the United States deploy in advance of the war?
The United States has deployed more than 120 aircraft to the region since early February, according to open-source intelligence analysts and military flight-tracking data. This is the largest increase in U.S. air power in the Middle East since the 2003 Iraq War.
Reported deployments include E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft, F-35 stealth attack fighters, and F-22 air superiority fighters, along with F-15 and F-16 fighter jets. Flight-tracking data shows many of these aircraft departing from bases in the United States and Europe with the support of cargo planes and aerial refueling tankers, military analysts said, indicating continuous operational planning rather than regular rotations.
In March, the Pentagon also ordered additional US troops to the Gulf.
The reinforcements are made up of three different formations, each with different origins, routes, and timelines.
The first was the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group, centered on the American-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU).
The second group, the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group, was organized around the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Boxer and the 11th MEU, and was based in Southern California, United States.
Together, these two Marine groups added 4,500 Marines and sailors to the region.
The third was approximately 2,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division Rapid Response Force based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Airborne infantry divisions focus on parachute attacks.
In total, about 7,000 additional soldiers have already been sent to the Middle East since the war with Iran began.
What do the latest developments suggest?
It’s unclear whether the new troop deployment signals an escalation of the war, but in an interview with Time magazine published Thursday, President Trump suggested he may ramp up bombing of Iran after the midterm elections.
Asked by TIME for further details, Trump said: “I can’t tell you that because I’m asking where we’re going to bomb.”
Some analysts have suggested that sending more troops to the region could be Washington’s way of negotiating with Iran.
Last week, Iran sent a new proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days, subject to certain conditions from the United States, including lifting sanctions, unfreezing Iranian assets and guaranteeing an end to the strike.
However, the Trump administration rejected this proposal. Analysts say the United States wants to discuss other issues, such as Iran’s nuclear program, before agreeing to any terms.
In an interview with Time, President Trump said he rejected Iran’s latest ceasefire offer because it included “things” that he “would not have approved a year ago” and “would not have approved today.”
The U.S. government combined a show of force against Iran with economic pressure, imposing 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. Last month, the United States announced comprehensive new sanctions against Iran and other countries that trade with Iran.
At what stage are diplomatic efforts at?
Indirect peace negotiations between the United States and Iran through intermediaries continue without any progress.
Opening the Strait of Hormuz remained a thorny topic during talks mediated by Qatar on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York last month.
At the meeting, Iran delivered a seven-day roadmap through Qatar to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart nuclear negotiations in exchange for lifting the U.S. naval blockade, easing sanctions and a regional ceasefire covering Lebanon and Yemen.
The plan was vetoed by President Trump.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Walz told NBC that the plan’s demands for frozen funds and sanctions relief are non-negotiable. “These are not just U.S. sanctions…these are global sanctions,” he said, citing seven U.N. Security Council resolutions against Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC that Iran was “fully ready” to resume war, before writing to X: “We did not come to New York to sell war. We came to build peace.”
Late Thursday, President Trump warned Iran that the current standoff would end “soon” and warned of serious consequences if Iran does not reach a deal with the United States.
President Trump, speaking at the Peterbilt Motors plant in Denton, Texas, said Iran “does something very appropriate and wise, or it’s not going to be around for very long.”
He also questioned whether Iran could be trusted to abide by any agreements, saying, “If I make a deal with this company, you guys will abide by it. Even if you make a deal with them, there’s a very good chance they won’t abide by the deal.”
