The US military sends 9,000 troops to the Middle East. Trump says he will consider increasing bombing of Iraq after the election.

A U.S. official confirmed today (2nd) that the U.S. military has dispatched about 9,000 troops to the Middle East aboard a fleet headed by the USS Theodore Roosevelt. They are expected to arrive in the Middle East as early as the end of October and join two other aircraft strike groups.

The Associated Press reported that the fleet consists of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, the cruiser USS Chosin, the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island, the amphibious transport ship USS John P. Murtha, and the amphibious transport ship USS Anchorage. It carries a total of more than 7,000 sailors and 2,000 Marines.

U.S. officials revealed that the fleet is expected to rendezvous with the USS George H.W. Bush and the USS George Washington in the Middle East as early as the end of October. By then, the US military's naval strength assembled in the Middle East will exceed 20,000.

In an interview with Time magazine on Monday, Trump said that he might step up the intensity of bombing Iran after the U.S. midterm elections on November 3.

But when reporters pressed him further, Trump refused to reveal more information, "I can't tell you, because you know, you're asking, where are you going to bomb?"

Trump also mentioned in the interview that he rejected Iran's latest ceasefire proposal because "what I wouldn't approve a year ago, I won't approve today."

Trump gave the example of Iran proposing to open the Strait of Hormuz as a condition, but he believed that Iran's proposal was "not good enough" overall.