Key Points
- A US official says the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and the Makin Island amphibious force, carrying more than 2,000 Marines, have left San Diego for the waters around Iran.
- Officials expect three US carriers and two amphibious groups in the region by the end of November, on top of roughly 50,000 US troops already there.
- The buildup gives President Donald Trump more military options while talks over Iran’s Hormuz proposal remain stuck, though no new strikes have been announced.
- Separately, a tanker caught fire after being hit by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz; the crew is safe and no one has been named as responsible.
The United States is moving a third aircraft carrier toward Iran. A US official told Al Jazeera that the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group left its San Diego base on Sunday, Sept. 27, followed a day later by the Makin Island amphibious force with more than 2,000 Marines aboard. As word of the deployment spread on Thursday, another tanker was reported burning in the Strait of Hormuz.
Together, the two developments capture where the US-Iran war stands as it enters its eighth month: a heavier American military presence, a shipping lane still under fire, and diplomacy that has yet to produce a deal.
What is heading to the region
According to US officials quoted by Al Jazeera, The National and Al Arabiya, the deployment includes:
- The USS Theodore Roosevelt, a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered carrier, with its strike group.
- The Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, made up of the USS Makin Island, USS Anchorage and USS John P. Murtha, carrying the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Al Arabiya said the group left San Diego on Sept. 28, and that a unit of this kind includes roughly 2,200 Marines and sailors.
- Additional air power, including F-35 fighter jets, according to Al Jazeera’s reporting from Washington.
The new forces would be layered on top of the roughly 50,000 US service members already stationed in the region, Al Jazeera reported. The Navy has not formally announced the ships’ destination.
US officials told the Wall Street Journal that the Roosevelt will reach the region by the end of November, The National reported. The official who spoke to Al Jazeera said three carriers and two amphibious landing groups would be positioned around Iran by then. Another official, speaking to the Associated Press, said three carriers could be in the region as early as the end of October.
Why three carriers matter
Two carriers, the USS George H.W. Bush and the USS George Washington, are already operating in the region. The Roosevelt is expected to relieve the Washington, which has been there since August, so the three-carrier picture is partly a product of ships overlapping during a rotation.
Al Arabiya described the buildup as temporary, saying the presence will shrink once those handovers are complete. It also noted that the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group, with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, is already in the Arabian Sea. For a period, commanders will have three carrier air wings and two Marine units to call on, which Al Arabiya said expands their capacity to carry out strikes, defend forces and partners, protect shipping or evacuate civilians.
The official told Al Jazeera that the concentration of force would give Trump a wider menu of options if he decides to act. Citing sources in the Pentagon and White House, Al Jazeera said the aim is to keep military options “on the table” however diplomacy unfolds. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said forces are “ready to go” should Trump order new strikes. No such order has been announced.
Another tanker hit in Hormuz
The UK Maritime Trade Operations center, known as UKMTO, said it received a third-party report that a tanker was struck by an unknown projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, causing a fire. The crew was reported safe. Damage to the ship and the environmental impact were unknown, and UKMTO did not identify the vessel or say who was responsible.
Seatrade Maritime said the attack was reported at 17:50 UTC on Oct. 1, the first in the strait this month, after at least 16 attacks on vessels in September, including four in 24 hours on Sept. 28 and 29. Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency described the ship as a supertanker able to carry 2.5 million barrels, hit about 8 kilometers off the coast of Oman while using what Fars called an “unauthorized route” through the strait. Those details have not been confirmed by UKMTO.
“Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO, whilst authorities investigate,” the agency said.
Diplomacy stuck in place
The military moves come as talks over Iran’s seven-day roadmap, conveyed through Qatar, remain deadlocked. That plan would see Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume nuclear talks in exchange for an end to the US naval blockade, sanctions relief and a regional ceasefire, Al Jazeera reported. LiveNewsWorld covered the US response to Iran’s Hormuz plan earlier this week.
US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz told NBC the demand for frozen funds and sanctions relief was non-negotiable. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi sent mixed signals, telling NBC that Tehran was “fully prepared” to resume the war, then writing on X: “we did not come to New York to sell a war. We came to forge peace.” President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday that Iran has “never shied away from talks,” according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
Washington has also added economic pressure, with the Treasury sanctioning Iranian rail and automotive conglomerates this week.
What happens next
The Roosevelt and the Makin Island group will take weeks to arrive, which puts the peak of the buildup close to the US midterm elections on Nov. 3. Asked by Time magazine whether he would resume bombing Iran after the midterms, Trump said it was “possible.” Investigators, meanwhile, are still working to establish who fired on the tanker in Hormuz.
