The US Navy is scaling up its commitment of warships to the Arabian Sea to secure the region's maritime corridors. A US official told Al Jazeera that Washington will maintain three aircraft carriers and two amphibious groups deployed around Iran by the end of November. This force includes the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which departed San Diego on September 27 to relieve the USS George Washington, alongside the USS Chosin cruiser and destroyers USS Paul Hamilton, USS Decatur, and USS Carl M. Levin. The Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group also sailed from the West Coast to reinforce regional operations.

The buildup follows the September 5 use of Iranian Qasem Basir anti-ship ballistic missiles, which possess a range of 1,200 km. The Revolutionary Guard Corps claims these strikes forced US ships to withdraw at least 500 km from the Strait of Hormuz, and satellite imagery shows US carriers were absent from the primary blockade line for 26 days. While the blockade has shifted south toward the UAE to operate outside missile range, CENTCOM states that American vessels evaded the attacks without casualties or damage.