New York, April 2 -- A third US aircraft carrier strike group is heading to the Middle East as military operations against Iran continue, according to a United States official familiar with the matter, after the Navy's flagship carrier left the region for repairs. The USS George H.W. Bush departed Norfolk, Virginia, on Tuesday for a deployment to the region along with an escort of Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and is likely to take three weeks to get there, the person said, declining to be named because they weren't authorized to speak publicly. The vessel was dispatched to the Middle East after the USS Gerald R. Ford - the most expensive American warship ever built, at $13.2 billion - had to leave combat operations as a result of a fire in its laundry area. The Bush's deployment was reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal. It comes as President Donald Trump seeks a diplomatic resolution to a disruptive war that has elevated energy prices, largely cut off shipping in the vital Strait of Hormuz and led to Iranian retaliation against Gulf allies....