WASHINGTON: The Pentagon may soon deploy an additional aircraft carrier and 10,000 sailors and Marines to the Persian Gulf, according to a US official, a move that gives US commanders more options if president Donald Trump chooses to escalate attacks on Iran.
The USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier left its San Diego home port on Sunday, the official said, adding that no final decision on its destination had been made and that it gives US Central Command more options in the region.
If the Roosevelt does arrive in the Middle East, it will bring the number of carrier strike groups in the region back up to three, the same number as at the outset of the war against Iran. It would also bring to the region the carrier’s 5,000 sailors and Marines and thousands of others spread across its accompanying vessels.
