New aircraft carrier, 10,000 US troops: Is the Iran war about to escalate?

The United States is deploying a third aircraft carrier strike group to waters in the Middle East close to Iran, a US official has told Al Jazeera, as the war enters its eighth month and both sides weigh escalation and diplomatic engagement.Thousands more troops are also on their way to the region, just a month before November US midterm elections, which could see US President Donald Trump’s Republican Party hit hard by his handling of the war, which is deeply unpopular in the US.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Trump launches midterms campaign blitz amid record low approval ratingslist 2 of 3US to send third aircraft carrier towards Iran: US official to Al Jazeeralist 3 of 3Iran urges Iraq to lift flight ban amid US sanctionsend of listWe look at what the latest troop deployment means and whether it signals a coming escalation in the war on Iran:What troops and military equipment have been deployed?A US official told Al Jazeera that the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group left its San Diego base on Sunday, bound for the region, followed a day later by the Makin Island Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), which is carrying more than 2,000 Marines.The Wall Street Jo...