Donald Trump is weighing the possibility of launching additional strikes on Iran as the Pentagon prepares to move roughly 10,000 more troops aboard US naval forces heading for the Middle East.
The deployment, which includes a third aircraft carrier, highlights the fast-changing course of Trump’s conflict with Iran. The president is considering his next steps as the US midterm elections approach and indications emerge that the confrontation may be taking on a more complicated dimension.
The vessels being sent to the region are carrying more than 7,000 sailors and approximately 2,000 Marines.
Among them is the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group, which recently set sail with the cruiser USS Chosin. The deployment also includes the USS Makin Island amphibious readiness group, supported by the amphibious landing ships USS John P. Murtha and USS Anchorage.
A US official said the move could place three American aircraft carriers in the Middle East by the end of October. The official spoke to The Associated Press anonymously because the details involve sensitive military operations.
Combined with the forces already stationed in the region, the deployment would create an unusually large US naval presence of more than 20,000 sailors and Marines, backed by hundreds of aircraft.
The Navy last had three carrier strike groups operating in the Middle East in April, marking the first such deployment since 2003.
The USS George H.W. Bush and USS George Washington are currently in the region, alongside the USS Boxer amphibious readiness group.
Donald Trump is weighing further strikes on Iran as the Pentagon prepares to send about 10,000 additional troops aboard naval forces bound for the Middle East.
The ships heading toward the Middle East carry more than 7,000 sailors and 2,000 Marines, including personnel from the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group, pictured.
The prospect of further US action against Iran has grown following Trump’s comments Thursday that preliminary information appeared to connect Iran to the FlyDubai co-pilot accused of stabbing the captain and attempting to bring down an Israel-bound flight on Wednesday.
“We’re working on it right now,” Trump told reporters, adding that officials were being forthcoming with the information available to them.
Asked whether the co-pilot had ties to Iran or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Trump replied: “Based on what I’m hearing, I would say the answer is yes. But we’re working on it right now.”
Trump warned that the United States would penalize Iran if investigators confirm that the co-pilot had links to the country and that its government supported the attack.
“They’ll be hit very hard,” he said, issuing a blunt warning before adding, “Don’t worry.”
The president reiterated that Washington would respond militarily if a connection between the suspect and Iran is established.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a Fox News interview on Thursday that investigators believed the suspect had undergone “Islamist, radical indoctrination,” although he offered no additional evidence or details.
“Oh, they’ll be hit very hard, don’t worry,” Trump said. “You just ask them. They know what happened. They’ll be hit very hard.”
The USS George Washington is usually assigned to the Pacific Ocean, but it was redirected to the Middle East to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln. The Lincoln’s previous deployment kept its crew at sea for more than 260 consecutive days.
Trump said the United States would retaliate if investigators confirm a link between the FlyDubai suspect and Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu separately told Fox News that investigators believed the suspect had undergone “Islamist, radical indoctrination,” but provided no further details.
Iranian-made Zolfaghar missiles are seen on display beside a large portrait of Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei at Baharestan Square in Tehran
Trump, in a Time magazine interview published Thursday, also raised the prospects of new strikes, saying it is ‘possible’ that he will ramp up bombing in Iran after the November 3 elections in the United States.
When pressed, Trump said he could not go into further detail about his strategy.
‘I can´t tell you that because look, you know, you´re asking, where are you going to bomb?’ Trump said.
He said in the interview, conducted Monday, that he rejected the latest ceasefire proposal from Iran because ‘things that I wouldn´t have approved a year ago I wouldn’t have today.’
Trump cited as an example an offer from Iran to ‘open up’ the Strait of Hormuz, the key energy shipping corridor, but said the overall proposal was ‘not good enough.’
Asked if the increasingly unpopular war would threaten Republican Party chances in November, Trump at first responded, ‘It´s possible.’
But then he added, ‘It should help, because Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.’
The president said ‘100 percent of the people’ oppose Iran having nuclear attack capabilities ‘including worldwide.’
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‘So, when you say it that way, it would help,’ Trump added. ‘If you don´t say that, it could hurt.’
Yet, there’s also growing concern that Tehran might be turning to asymmetrical tactics following the FlyDubai attack and another suspicious incident in the UK.
Authorities believe that Iran might be looking to shift strategy just as the US finds greater success in loosening Iran´s grip over the Strait of Hormuz and getting Gulf allies’ oil to market, while a Navy blockade is shutting down Iran´s own oil exports.
British authorities announced on Thursday the arrest of a dual UK-Iranian national on suspicion of plotting a terror attack following a security incident at a US-run military air base in England that British authorities have linked to Tehran.
The arrest of the 27-year-old man in Central London came after UK authorities arrested five men, all British nationals in their 20s and from London, in the early hours of Sunday on suspicion of explosives and terror offenses close to the RAF Fairford air base
The base has been used by American bombers to strike Iran. The suspects have since been released on bail.
The flight plunged more than 14,000ft in less than 30 seconds during the incident as it flew over Saudi Arabia on the journey from the United Arab Emirates to Israel, according to the flight-tracking website Flightradar24.
Despite the scare, all passengers remained safe during the incident.
However, both the co-pilot and captain were hospitalized, according to Tabuk airport officials. The flight made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, after passengers subdued the co-pilot.
Trump praised Boeing and its CEO Kelly Ortberg in a social media post Thursday morning for the design of the 737 MAX and its ability to withstand extreme conditions as it rapidly descended before stabilizing.
