by Dave DeCamp | March 31, 2026
The US is deploying a third aircraft carrier to the Middle East for operations against Iran, US officials told media outlets on Tuesday, a sign that the war will continue to escalate despite President Trump’s claims that he is looking to end the conflict.
The aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush and other warships that are part of its strike group departed Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia on Tuesday and are expected to arrive in the Middle East in a few weeks. The US Navy said the strike group’s departure is part of a regularly scheduled deployment.
According to The Wall Street Journal, once the Bush arrives in the region, the US could have three carriers deployed for the Iran war for the foreseeable future, though Al Arabiya reported that the warship could replace one of the two carriers that have been involved in the conflict: the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been operating in the Arabian Sea, or the USS Gerald Ford, which is currently in Croatia after being in Crete for reparis.
The Ford, which was operating in the Eastern Mediterranean near Israel, went to port after a major fire on the ship destroyed the beds of 100 crewmembers. The US military has insisted that the blaze was caused by a fire in the ship’s laundry room, though there are suspicions that an attack or sabotage was the real cause. The Ford has also been on an extended deployment and is set to break the record for the longest deployment since the Vietnam War.
In addition to sending a third aircraft carrier to the Middle East, the US has deployed thousands of Marines and US Army Airborne troops to the region as the Pentagon prepares for potential ground operations. Trump is insisting the war could be over in a few weeks, but escalating to a ground war would likely lead to a much longer conflict.
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