US considers Gulf naval forces build-up

The US Defence Department is thinking about a major build-up of US Navy forces in the Persian Gulf as a show of force against Iran, a senior defence official said today.

Speaking on condition of anonymity because the idea has not been approved, the official said one proposal is to send a second aircraft carrier to the region amid increasing tensions with Iran, blamed for encouraging sectarian violence in neighbouring Iraq as well as allegedly pursuing a nuclear weapons programme.