The US Department of Defense intends to send thousands of additional troops to the Middle East in the coming days as an escalatory step to pressure Iran into reaching a deal to end the war. According to The Washington Post, citing unnamed American officials, the move comes amid rising possibilities of ground operations if the “fragile” ceasefire fails.
The deployment includes approximately 6,000 soldiers aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush and its escorting warships. Current and former officials also told the newspaper that another 4,200 troops from the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit are expected to arrive by the end of this month.
According to the report by the newspaper’s Pentagon correspondent, these forces are set to join some 50,000 US military personnel already in the region to participate in operations countering Iran. This will bring the number of US aircraft carriers in the Middle East to three—the George H.W. Bush, Abraham Lincoln, and Gerald R. Ford—each carrying dozens of fighter jets.
The mobilization comes ahead of the April 22 expiration of a scheduled two-week ceasefire and serves to reinforce the naval blockade announced by US President Donald Trump last Monday on maritime traffic to and from Iranian ports.
While the Pentagon and US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees military operations in the region, declined to comment on the report, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt responded to inquiries regarding the increased military presence. In a statement, she said Trump has “wisely kept all options on the table in case the Iranians will not forego their nuclear ambitions and make a deal that is acceptable to the United States.”
Leavitt added that Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and US negotiators have “made the US red lines very clear,” predicting that “Iran’s desperation for a deal will only increase” as the blockade continues.
The naval blockade, announced by Trump on Monday, aims to pressure the regime to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end its nuclear program. Despite a stalemate in talks earlier this week, Trump expressed optimism to Fox Business that they could resume soon, stating that the war is “very close to being over.”
Regarding the field deployment around Iran, media reports indicate that more than 12 US warships are stationed in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea to enforce the blockade. Officials reported that during the first 24 hours of the operation, six commercial vessels were intercepted and forced to return to Iranian ports without incident.
In contrast, Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported Wednesday, under the headline “Second Case Confirming Failure of US Blockade,” that a cargo ship carrying food entered Gulf waters heading toward Imam Khomeini Port in the south. The agency cited ship-tracking data for the claim and also noted that a supertanker on the US sanctions list openly crossed the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian waters this morning with its tracking devices active and without camouflage.
The Washington Post did not rule out a potential escalation involving “US ground operations” on Iranian soil. Citing unnamed officials, the report stated that Washington has discussed options ranging from special forces missions to extract nuclear materials to landing Marines on coastal areas to protect the Strait of Hormuz or seizing Kharg Island, Iran’s primary oil export terminal.
Mick Mulroy, a retired Marine and CIA officer , warned that any ground operations would be fraught with immense risks. In his comments to The Washington Post, Mulroy expressed hope for an agreement that would freeze Iran’s nuclear program for a decade or two to avoid the grave challenges American soldiers would face if deployed on Iranian territory.
