Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
The United States is sending roughly 9,000 troops aboard a group of ships to the Middle East, a US official told the Associated Press on Thursday, as President Donald Trump warned that fresh strikes against Iran could be possible.
Trump also said early indications suggested Iran was linked to the co-pilot who stabbed India’s Smit Machchhar and tried to crash an Israel-bound flight on Wednesday. Asked at the White House if there were any links between the pilot behind the attack and Tehran, Trump said, “I would say the answer, based on what I’m hearing, is yes, but we’re working on it right now,” without giving details.
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Trump also warned that if a link to Iran was established, the United States would respond. “Oh they’ll be hit, very hard, don’t worry,” he said. “You just ask them. They know what happened. They’ll be hit very hard.”
Meanwhile, the ships heading to the Middle East together carry more than 7,000 sailors and 2,000 Marines. They include the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group, which recently deployed with the cruiser USS Chosin, and the USS Makin Island amphibious readiness group, which includes the USS John P. Murtha and USS Anchorage amphibious landing ships.
According to the US official, who spoke to The AP on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations, the move could mean that three carriers are in the region as early as the end of October.
With personnel already in place in the Middle East, the latest deployment would take the US naval presence to an unusually high level of more than 20,000 sailors and Marines, along with hundreds of aircraft. The Navy last had three carrier strike groups in the Middle East in April, the first time since 2003.
The carriers USS George H.W. Bush and USS George Washington are already in the region, along with the USS Boxer amphibious readiness group. The George Washington is usually deployed to the Pacific Ocean, but it was moved to the Middle East to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln after its crew spent more than 260 days at sea during a prolonged deployment.
In a Time magazine interview published on Thursday, Trump also said it was “possible” that he would increase bombing in Iran after the US elections on November 3. Pressed further, he said he could not explain his strategy in detail. “I can’t tell you that because look, you know, you’re asking, where are you going to bomb?” Trump said.
He said in the interview, conducted on Monday, that he had rejected Iran’s latest ceasefire proposal because “things that I wouldn’t have approved a year ago I wouldn’t have today”. Trump cited as an example an offer from Iran to “open up” the Strait of Hormuz, a key energy shipping route, but said the overall proposal was “not good enough”.
Asked if the increasingly unpopular war could hurt Republican chances in November, Trump first said, “It’s possible.” He then added, “It should help, because Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.” The president also said “100% of the people” oppose Iran having nuclear attack capabilities, “including worldwide”. “So, when you say it that way, It would help,” Trump added. “If you don’t say that, it could hurt.”
Overall, the US is sharply increasing its military presence in the Middle East while Trump keeps open the possibility of further action against Iran and says authorities are examining whether Tehran had a role in the attack on the Israel-bound flight.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
