A third US aircraft carrier strike group is deploying to the Middle East as war with Iran rages on.
George Bush is headed back to the Middle East, ready for war.
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The USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier will be sailing to the Middle East with a fleet of support ships in tow, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced Tuesday.
That news came after the Bush carrier group departed from its base in Norfolk, Virginia, in what Navy Times initially reported was a pre-scheduled deployment.
It will join two other aircraft carrier groups already in the Middle East — the USS Gerald Ford, in the Mediterranean Sea, and the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea.
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The Bush’s deployment came as Trump and Hegseth have been warning that the most decisive days of the month-long war in Iran will soon be unfolding, and as thousands of US troops have begun deploying for the region for possible on-the-ground operations.
Iran has been being hammered by US and Israeli rockets since their supreme leader – Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – was killed alongside 50 top government officials in a crushing surprise attack on Feb. 28.
But Tehran has managed to largely close the Strait of Hormuz – a critical bottleneck in global oil distribution – and left markets reeling as the conflict rages on.
But President Trump has also indicated he could be willing to end the war in Iran without wresting control Hormuz from Iran.
