US sends aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt to the Middle East

The United States is sending the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit to the Middle East. Two US officials confirmed the deployment on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, and said the ships would reach the region by the end of November.

According to the officials, the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit has set out from San Diego with the USS Makin Island amphibious group. The Theodore Roosevelt left San Diego on 27 September and, after a stop in the Japanese port of Yokosuka, sailed on 19 October. A carrier strike group has about 6,000 sailors, and a Marine expeditionary unit with its amphibious group about 4,200 Marines and sailors: close to 10,000 new personnel in all.

US military options against the Islamic Republic

The deployment comes as reports say broader strikes on the Islamic Republic are being considered after the US midterm elections on 3 November. The new forces are being sent a few days after the unannounced visit of US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to Israel and his meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, a meeting that addressed options for confronting the Islamic Republic.

The carriers George H.W. Bush and George Washington have been in the region since April and August respectively. Some US military sources say the Roosevelt will replace the George Washington, but it is not yet clear whether the number of US carriers in the region will rise to three. The Boxer amphibious group with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit is also deployed in the Arabian Sea.

According to Israeli security sources, about 3,000 US military personnel are now stationed across Israel in air defence, flight operations, support and logistics, and more troops and aircraft are expected to be sent to the region in the coming weeks.

Tension in the Strait of Hormuz and fruitless mediation

These developments coincide with the Islamic Republic's continuing attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and Pakistan's fruitless mediation. On Tuesday, Mohsen Rezaei told Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir that not even a tiny amount of enriched uranium will leave Iran. Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier said he has ordered all of Israel's security agencies to work towards toppling the Islamic Republic.

The carrier Theodore Roosevelt and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, with close to 10,000 personnel, will reach the Middle East by the end of November.