US sending military assets to Middle East as Trump weighs Iran strike, sources say

US sending military assets to Middle East as Trump weighs Iran strike, sources say

Jasmine Baehr

Jennifer Griffin

It is not yet clear whether the carrier is the USS Abraham Lincoln, currently operating in the South China Sea, or one of two carriers that departed Norfolk and San Diego earlier this week. Transit to the region is expected to take at least a week.

U.S. military assets from air, land and sea are expected to flow into the region in the coming days and weeks to provide the president with military options should he decide to carry out strikes against Iran, sources said.

The movements are part of what officials described as a process of "setting the force."

One well-placed source said if the president decides to carry out military action, "This will be different, more offensive." The source said U.S. military planners are preparing a range of options that would depend on how Iran’s regime acts in coming days.

U.S. officials confirmed to Fox News there are currently about 30,000 U.S. troops assigned to the U.S. Central Command region. There are no U.S. aircraft carriers or carrier strike groups operating in the CENTCOM area at this time.

The current U.S. naval presence in the region includes three destroyers and three Littoral Combat Ships. Three U.S. aircraft carriers are currently deployed elsewhere, officials said: The USS George Washington in Yokosuka, Japan; USS Abraham Lincoln in the INDOPACOM area; and USS Gerald R. Ford in the SOUTHCOM area. 

Two additional carriers near Norfolk and San Diego are not actively deployed.

Missile defense systems are also expected to be sent to the region to bolster the defense of U.S. bases and Israel. The systems would include missile defense assets, according to sources.