US sends third carrier and thousands of troops as Trump warns Iran
Washington is deploying roughly 9,000 sailors and Marines and positioning up to three aircraft carrier strike groups in Middle East waters as President Donald Trump warned of strikes on Iran after talks broke down. It is one of the largest concentrations of American naval power in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The flotilla is expected to arrive between late October and November.
The buildup follows stalled bilateral talks with Tehran and a US order expelling Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and his diplomatic mission from New York. Trump told reporters the eight-month-old conflict would end "very soon, one way or the other" — the choice, he said, was "blow them up or make a deal."
The Wall Street Journal reported the US is sending a third carrier and up to 10,000 more troops as Trump weighs resuming strikes on Iran after the November 3 US midterm elections. At the White House, he said: "Now I have to make a decision. They'll either sign a very fair deal, or they won't exist any longer."
Energy markets reacted sharply, with Brent crude jumping to about $102 a barrel and the UAE's Murban crude trading at $109.40 — a rare premium as Asian refiners priced in risk to Persian Gulf shipping lanes. Equity markets in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul retreated on fears that sustained energy inflation will keep interest rates elevated.
