The United States is sending a third aircraft carrier towards the Middle East as confrontation with Iran continues.

Additional US forces could include up to 10,000 troops, while Patriot missile systems are also being deployed to Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Washington has simultaneously introduced another round of sanctions targeting sectors of the Iranian economy.

The expanding military presence increases the scale of US involvement in a region already affected by months of war, attacks on shipping and growing instability around the Strait of Hormuz.