The Pentagon will send a third aircraft carrier to the Middle East / More than 9,000 troops will be deployed in the region

The Pentagon will send a third carrier strike group and additional Marine Corps ships to the Middle East, adding between 9,000 and 10,000 troops to the region by the end of November, according to U.S. officials cited by the Wall Street Journal.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier left its base in San Diego on Sunday, while the USS Makin Island amphibious ready group, with three ships and Marines from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, departed on Monday. Two U.S. aircraft carriers, the USS George H.W. Bush and the USS George Washington, are already in the region. If Washington remains there, the United States would have three carrier strike groups there for the first time since April.

The reinforcement of forces comes as President Donald Trump considers resuming attacks on Iran after the midterm elections if an agreement is not reached. More than 50,000 U.S. troops are already in the region, along with approximately 20 ships involved in the blockade and in escorting commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. Washington has also extended the deployment of several air defense units and the 82nd Airborne Division.

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