Donald Trump is preparing to escalate against Iran. Increasing pressure on Tehran, the Pentagon has dispatched a third strike group to the Middle East, centered on the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and other Marine Corps ships, representing an additional 9,000-10,000 troops. This is just as the US president is considering resuming massive strikes after the November 3 midterm elections.
The tycoon has reiterated in recent days that he is considering relaunching a bombing campaign in the coming weeks. "Now I have to make a decision: either Iran signs the agreement, or it will no longer exist," he threatened. Thus, the ships, fighters, Marines, and Navy personnel on the move will arrive in the area by the end of November, according to the Wall Street Journal, given that the Roosevelt only left its base in San Diego on Sunday for a pre-scheduled mission, while the USS Makin Island amphibious assault group, composed of three vessels carrying Marines from the 13th Expeditionary Unit, departed on Monday.
Two aircraft carriers, the USS George H.W. Bush and the USS George Washington, are already in the Middle East. If the Washington, instead of returning to Yokosuka, were to remain after the Roosevelt's arrival—an unlikely scenario given the lack of US aircraft carriers in the Western Pacific—the region would host three naval strike groups for the first time since April, when Iran and the United States signed a fragile ceasefire, in a new American show of strength against the Pasdaran. In addition to the Bush and the Washington, the ships of the USS Boxer amphibious group are also present in the Middle East: the additional military personnel embarked will add to the more than 50,000 troops already deployed.
Meanwhile, in recent weeks , the U.S. military has deployed two additional Patriot missile batteries to protect oil and gas facilities in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. This scenario sees the United States aiming to reassure its two allies that their strategic infrastructure is protected from Tehran's aggression, especially in the event that Trump decides to resume "major combat operations" against Iran.
(Unioneonline)
