The US is moving to beef up its military presence in the Middle East and to maintain an aircraft carrier there. The USS Theodore Roosevelt previously replaced the USS Eisenhower (which recently returned home after an extended deployment). While tensions are almost always running high in parts of the Middle East, they took a dramatic leap on July 31, 2024, with the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran. Iran is expected to launch an imminent retaliation against Israel for the assassination in Tehran.