The Pentagon is sending 9,000 to 10,000 additional personnel to the Middle East aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and additional Marine Corps ships, with arrival by the end of November, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials. President Donald Trump is considering renewed strikes on Iran after the midterm elections if no agreement is reached. The ships include the Makin Island amphibious group and carry more than 7,000 sailors and 2,000 Marines, the Associated Press reported. More than 50,000 US troops are already deployed across the region.

The deployments could temporarily put three carrier strike groups and two amphibious groups in the region, rather than establish a lasting increase. US officials told the Washington Post that the Roosevelt could overlap with the USS George Washington and USS George H.W. Bush or replace an existing carrier. The Makin Island group could similarly overlap with or replace the USS Boxer group. The Roosevelt left San Diego on September 27, and the Makin Island group departed the following day.

The US also sent two additional Patriot missile batteries last month to protect a Saudi oil facility and a Qatari natural gas facility, Axios reported, citing US officials and a regional source. The deployments were intended to reassure both allies that Washington would protect their energy infrastructure if Trump resumes major combat operations against Iran. Saudi and Qatari leaders urged Trump in August not to strike Iranian energy infrastructure, fearing retaliation against their own facilities. US officials told Axios those concerns helped steer Trump toward an economic pressure campaign at the time.