The United States is expanding its military presence in the Middle East, deploying thousands of additional troops and warships as the Trump administration tightens a naval blockade on Iran and weighs the possibility of ground operations on Iranian soil, the Washington Post reports.
The reinforcements include around 6,000 personnel aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush, which was rounding the Horn of Africa on Tuesday en route to the region, the Post reported, citing current and former officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. A further 4,200 troops with the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group and its embarked 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which includes an infantry battalion of more than 800 personnel, are expected to arrive by the end of the month. Their arrival will bring the total number of US aircraft carriers in the region to three, joining the USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS Gerald R. Ford, giving commanders dozens of additional fighter jets and significantly expanded strike options.
The timing is deliberate. A two-week ceasefire is due to expire on April 22, and the new forces are expected to be in position as that deadline approaches, the Post said. They will join an estimated 50,000 US personnel already engaged in operations against Iran.
The deployment accompanies a naval blockade that Trump announced on Sunday, barring maritime traffic from entering or leaving Iranian ports. The stated goal is to force Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and to bring Iran to the negotiating table on its nuclear programme. Talks led by Vice President JD Vance stalled at the weekend, though Trump said discussions could resume later this week and described the conflict as “very close” to being over in a Fox Business interview, according to the Post.
In the first 24 hours of the blockade, US warships intercepted six merchant vessels, all of which returned to Iranian ports without incident, the Post reported. More than a dozen Navy ships are now deployed in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea to enforce the measure. A former senior defence official told the Post that armed boarding teams from the Navy SEALs, Marine Corps and Coast Guard are prepared to seize non-compliant vessels, though the mission carries serious risks including attack by Iranian drones or speedboats.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Post the president “has wisely kept all options on the table in the event that the Iranians will not forgo their nuclear ambitions,” predicting that Iran’s “desperation for a deal will only increase” as the blockade bites.
Retired Navy admiral James Foggo, now dean at the Center for Maritime Strategy in Northern Virginia, told the Post the additional firepower gives commanders significantly more flexibility. “The more tools you have got in your kit, the more diversity of options that you have,” he said. He welcomed the economic logic of the blockade, given Iran’s reliance on oil exports through the strait, but noted a trade-off. “Gas prices are going to continue to go up. So, that is a problem for us and our policymakers, as well,” he said.
Beyond the blockade, the Post reported, citing two US officials, that military planners are actively considering ground operations on Iranian soil. Options under discussion include a Special Operations mission to remove Iranian nuclear material, a Marine landing on coastal areas or islands to secure the strait, and the seizure of Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export terminal in the Persian Gulf.
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