WSJ: Third US aircraft carrier heading for the Middle East with a further 10,000 troops

The Pentagon is sending a third strike group to the Middle East, centred on the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, along with additional ships from the Marine Corps: According to the Wall Street Journal, the move will see an additional contingent of between 9,000 and 10,000 personnel arrive in the region, just as President Donald Trump is considering the possibility of resuming attacks against Iran following the mid-term elections. The ships, fighter jets, Marines and Navy personnel are due to arrive in the area by the end of November, according to officials speaking on condition of anonymity.

Donald Trump has stated that Iran is “ready to give in” and that the matter “will be resolved very quickly”. Speaking in Denton, Texas, at the Peterbilt Motors factory during a campaign event ahead of the mid-term elections, the US president said he believed the United States would win the war “immediately after the elections”, whilst adding that this could happen “perhaps even before the elections”. “I will ensure that the Iranian issue is resolved very quickly,” said the tycoon, adding that energy prices would fall “very, very quickly”. Trump said that the US is “trying to be polite” towards the current Iranian leader. “To be honest, we don’t know who on earth we’re dealing with. Nobody wants to be president,” he said

In recent weeks, the US armed forces have deployed two further Patriot missile batteries to protect oil and gas facilities in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. This is reported by Axios, citing two US officials and a source in the region. The US move aims to reassure both allies that their strategic energy infrastructure is protected, should President Donald Trump decide to resume major combat operations against Iran. Yesterday, Trump stated that he was considering the possibility of resuming a bombing campaign in the coming weeks. “I now have to make a decision: either Iran signs the deal, or it will cease to exist,” he said.

Chinese refineries have suspended exports of petroleum products to destinations outside Hong Kong and Macao for the month of October, pending further guidance from Beijing. This is according to the Reuters website, which cites four people familiar with the matter. The decision comes as Beijing seeks to preserve domestic stocks. China had restricted fuel exports in March, after the war with Iran disrupted crude oil supplies from the Middle East, before easing the restrictions in July and managing shipments on a monthly basis. It is unclear whether Beijing will authorise the resumption of exports after the national holiday ends on 7 October. According to sources cited by the Reuters website, the decision may depend on the level of domestic stocks and refinery output. The state-owned company PetroChina cancelled on Wednesday a number of consignments of petrol and aviation fuel scheduled for October, whilst Zhejiang Petrochemical has not scheduled any shipments of petroleum products during the holiday week. In September, China exported around 1.4 million tonnes of diesel, 500,000 tonnes of petrol and at least 2 million tonnes of jet fuel, including shipments to Hong Kong and Macao. The main destinations include Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Vietnam, Bangladesh and the Philippines.