US aircraft carrier to deploy to Middle East, USNI says

The USS Theodore Roosevelt strike group is expected to deploy from San Diego to the Middle East in the coming weeks, the US Naval Institute reported, as the war with Iran continues.

USNI said the deployment would last more than seven months and would relieve the USS George Washington, which arrived in the Middle East last week after deploying from Japan.

The George Washington replaced the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been at sea since November 2025. The Lincoln is heading for a port call in Thailand next week for its 5,000 sailors.

The United States has maintained an aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea for strike missions over Iran since the United States and Israel launched the war at the end of February, and later to enforce a naval blockade of Iranian ports.

USNI said senior officials, including Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle, described efforts to ease pressure on sailors and their families facing the longest deployments in decades.

The US Defense Department did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment Thursday.

The George Washington’s deployment from Japan means there is currently no US aircraft carrier in the Pacific, where the United States customarily keeps a vessel to counter China, USNI reported.