❗️US sends thousands more troops and third aircraft carrier toward Iran

The US is deploying the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and the USS Makin Island amphibious group toward the region, adding roughly 9,000 personnel to the US military presence around Iran, according to US officials cited by Al Jazeera and the Associated Press. The groups include more than 7,000 sailors and over 2,000 Marines.

A US official told Al Jazeera that the Roosevelt group left San Diego on Sunday, followed a day later by the Makin Island group. The deployment could bring three US aircraft carriers and two amphibious groups into the region by the end of November.

The buildup includes additional air power, including F-35 fighter jets, alongside roughly 50,000 US service members already stationed in the region.

The official said the concentration of forces would give President Donald Trump a wider range of military options, while Al Jazeera reported that Pentagon and White House sources said the assets are being maintained regardless of how diplomacy with Tehran develops.