US Sends 9,000 Troops to Middle East as Trump Warns Iran — SkimNews
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- The US Navy is deploying roughly 9,000 troops aboard warships to the Middle East, including the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and USS Makin Island amphibious readiness group, carrying more than 7,000 sailors and 2,000 Marines
- Trump said Iran was linked to a co-pilot who stabbed his captain and tried to crash an Israel-bound flight, warning that if confirmed, "they'll be hit very hard"
- The buildup could place three carrier strike groups in the region by the end of October — more than 20,000 sailors and Marines along with hundreds of aircraft — a concentration the Navy last had in April, the first since 2003
- The USS George Washington was diverted from the Pacific to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln after its crew spent more than 260 days at sea
- Trump told Time it was "possible" he would increase bombing of Iran after the November 3 elections and said he rejected Iran's latest ceasefire proposal — including its offer to open the Strait of Hormuz — as "not good enough"
- Trump acknowledged the war's unpopularity could hurt Republicans in November but argued "it should help, because Iran will not have a nuclear weapon"
Why it matters: The deployment pushes US naval power in the Middle East to its highest concentration since 2003, and Trump explicitly left the door open to escalating bombing after the November 3 elections — meaning the military buildup is staged for a window in which domestic political costs are minimized.
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