Illustrative image. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Maxwell Orlosky)
President Trump ordered the Pentagon to send the United States largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, and its strike group to the Middle East in order to boost American forces in the region amid tensions with Iran, Axios reported on February 13, citing two U.S. officials confirmed.
The Ford is currently present in the Caribbean Sea. Trump sent the Ford there in November as part of the operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
It will likely need three or four weeks to arrive in the Middle East. There it will join the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and its strike group, which arrived in the region earlier in the month amid massive U.S. military buildup.
Axiso said that the deployment of the second carrier strike group will “increase the pressure on Tehran during the nuclear negotiations with the Trump administration, making the U.S. military threat even more menacing.”
In addition to the American news website, the deployment of the Ford was also reported by The New York Times and the Associated Press.
Trump on February 12 warned Iran that failure to reach a deal with his administration would be “very traumatic.” Iran and the U.S. held the first round of indirect talks in Oman last week.
“I guess over the next month, something like that,” Trump said in response to a question about his timeline for striking a deal with Iran on its nuclear program. “It should happen quickly. They should agree very quickly.”
Trump told Axios earlier in the week that he was considering sending a second carrier strike group to the Middle East to pressure Iran.
The deployment of the Ford may not, however, be the height of the ongoing U.S. military buildup in the region, as there are signs that a third aircraft carrier could soon be sent there.
A report by The Wall Street Journal from February 11 suggested that the USS George H.W. Bush and its strike group may be reading for deployment in the Middle East.
“The order to deploy could be issued in a matter of hours,” the American newspaper posited, citing anonymous officials.
“One of the officials said the Pentagon was readying a carrier to deploy in two weeks, likely from the U.S. East Coast,” the newspaper noted. “The aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush is completing a series of training exercises off the coast of Virginia, and it could potentially expedite those exercises.”
The deployment of a second carrier group was highly expected. The U.S. had two carriers in the region during much of the war in Gaza. Sending a third carrier won’t be also surprising, considering that the ongoing military buildup is directed against Iran.
While the last round of nuclear talks in Oman was overall described as positive, it remained limited to the nuclear issue. The U.S. wants to expand the scope of the talks to include Iran’s missile program, and regional influence. The Islamic Republic will not likely agree.
An agreement between the two seems highly unlikely. Meanwhile, the ongoing U.S. military buildup suggests that the Trump administration has very much already made the decision to go to war. The deployment of a second carrier strike group, which is a costly move, hints in this direction. Sending a third will likely confirm it.
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they won’t make a deal anymore than zelenskg will be allowed to surrender or negotiators peace .they’re all being directed by foreign powers who want war .obviously to everyone except co offenders
the parasite class wants hydrocarbon control. some say it takes three carriers to rotate striking power. lasting about two weeks. iranians get free starlink.
the ayatollah should negotiate he’s an empire at stake a personal empire .he reigns like an emperor .and he has sons and grandkids who from you tube sources are totally westernised .they live luxuriously and he can maintain that by peaceful means .imo .
let them send it will be destroyed all toghter at once . yemeni should get ready now bcuz it also directed at you.yemeni anshallarh should hit atleast one and drowned them .