A US Navy aircraft carrier has left the Middle East, ending a rare show of force

• A US Navy aircraft carrier has left the Middle East after spending several weeks there.
• USS Theodore Roosevelt departed the area this week and is currently in the Indo-Pacific region.

A US Navy aircraft carrier left the Middle East this week, ending a show of force that saw the sea service dual-wield two carrier strike groups.

USS Theodore Roosevelt departed the Middle East area on Wednesday night, a US official confirmed to Business Insider on Thursday, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive force posture changes.

The Theodore Roosevelt is now sailing in the Indo-Pacific region with two destroyers from its strike group, USS Daniel Inouye and USS Russell, the official said.

The move concludes a brief period of several weeks during which the Navy had two aircraft carriers operating simultaneously in the Middle East, a rare show of force for the US military. The last time the Navy had two carriers in the region together was in March 2020.

The other carrier, USS Abraham Lincoln, is still operating in the Middle East with multiple destroyers in its strike group. The Lincoln entered the region in late August.

The Pentagon said days later that it would keep the Lincoln and the Theodore Roosevelt in the Middle East amid soaring tensions between Israel and Iran and its regional proxies. It was unclear how long they would both stay there.

The Associated Press first reported the Theodore Roosevelt's departure from the Middle East, noting that the aircraft carrier is headed back to its homeport of San Diego after a monthlong deployment that began in January.

The Theodore Roosevelt was directed to the Middle East in June to take over the Navy's ongoing counter-Houthi mission from the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, which spent months defending merchant shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden from missile and drone attacks.

The US, in early August, moved additional naval assets into the area to increase its firepower in and around the Middle East to help defend Israel and American forces from potential attacks from Iran and its regional proxies. The Lincoln carrier strike group was sent to the region as part of this effort.

The US also ordered the guided-missile submarine USS Georgia to the Middle East as part of the build-up. A Pentagon spokesperson confirmed earlier this week that this heavily armed Ohio-class vessel has finally arrived in the region.