US deploys 12 warships in Middle East amid rising tensions

The US Department of Defence has sent 12 warships to the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea, amid Israeli strikes on Beirut and Tehran.

The vessels included the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and its accompanying warships, and the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, a three-ship amphibious task force that includes more than 4,000 Marines and sailors, the official told foreign media, speaking on the condition of anonymity, Caliber.Az reports.

The official added that the rising tension in the Middle East has not prompted the Pentagon to announce any additional deployments, but the US Navy has assembled at least a dozen warships nearby.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt was in the Persian Gulf on Wednesday with six U.S. destroyers. In the eastern Mediterranean were the three amphibious ships and two destroyers, according to the Washington Post.

No U.S. warships were in the Red Sea, where the U.S. military has tangled in recent days with the Houthis group in Yemen that has launched numerous attacks against commercial and military ships over the past several months.