By ALISON BATH STARS AND STRIPES – Published 11 hours ago · Updated 8 hours ago
NAPLES, Italy — A San Diego-based Navy amphibious ready group deployed this week, a day after a West Coast aircraft carrier set sail, as President Donald Trump considers renewed strikes against Iran in November. The Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group departed San Diego Monday. Its departure followed Sunday’s deployment of the San Diego-based aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. Citing unnamed U.S. officials, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the Pentagon is sending a third aircraft carrier strike group and an additional Marine expeditionary unit to the Middle East. The deployments are expected to add 9,000 to 10,000 sailors and Marines to the region by the end of November. The reported reinforcements could give Trump more military options if talks with Iran fail. But with Roosevelt possibly replacing another carrier and Makin Island’s destination unconfirmed, the size of any buildup remains unclear. The Makin Island group includes three ships — USS Makin Island, USS Anchorage and USS John P. Murtha — and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The group’s departure was first reported by online ship watcher @WarshipCam and USNI News. The Navy confirmed Tuesday that the Roosevelt carrier strike group was conducting routine operations in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations. It did not provide additional details, citing operational security. The 3rd Fleet did not immediately respond to an email Friday about the deployment of the Makin Island group. Roosevelt is expected to relieve the Japan-based carrier USS George Washington, which was sent to the Middle East in August following concerns about mental health, including suicide attempts, aboard USS Abraham Lincoln. Last week, Trump announced he was rejecting an Iranian ceasefire proposal that would have have reopened the Strait of Hormuz and restarted peace talks with Tehran. He later added that U.S.-Iran talks were expected to resume this week. U.S. and Iranian officials spoke separately with mediators on Monday as part of a renewed effort to end the seven-month war, Reuters reported. In a Time magazine interview published Thursday, Trump renewed threats to annihilate Iran, saying that “by annihilating Iran, we’ve created peace in the world. With Iran, I don’t think you could ever have peace.” Trump also said it was “possible” U.S. strikes against Iran could resume after the November midterm elections. Washington and the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush are already operating in the Arabian Sea, according to the latest USNI News fleet tracker. The Boxer Amphibious Ready Group, which includes the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer, the dock landing ship USS Comstock, the amphibious transport dock ship USS Portland and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, arrived in the Arabian Sea in July, according to USNI News. Other Navy warships in the region include 10 destroyers and a expeditionary sea base in the Arabian Sea, three destroyers and a cruiser in the Indian Ocean, two destroyers in the Red Sea and at least two more destroyers operating in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, according to the fleet tracker. Alison Bath reports on the U.S. Navy, including U.S. 6th Fleet, in Europe and Africa. She has reported for a variety of publications in Montana, Nevada and Louisiana, and served as editor of newspapers in Louisiana, Oregon and Washington.
Read more at: https://www.stripes.com/branches/navy/2026-10-02/makin-island-middle-east-iran-strikes-november-23032862.html
Source – Stars and Stripes
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