US dispatching ~9,000 troops and a third carrier toward the Middle East as Trump weighs new Iran strikes

A U.S. official told AP on October 1 that the military is dispatching roughly 9,000 troops aboard ships to the Middle East — over 7,000 sailors and 2,000 Marines — including the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and the USS Makin Island amphibious group. Three U.S. carriers could be in the region by late October as President Trump weighs new strikes on Iran and rejected Tehran's latest proposal as insufficient. Trump also claimed "early indications" link Iran to the co-pilot who tried to crash a Flydubai flight bound for Israel on September 30 — an allegation for which he provided no evidence; Israel's prime minister said it was "too early" to say. Source: Associated Press, October 1, 2026. https://www.lapost.com/content/us-is-moving-thousands-of-troops-aboard-ships-to-the-mideast-as-trump-weighs-new-strikes-on-iran