The U.S. plans to move the world’s largest aircraft carrier from the Caribbean to the Middle East as tensions with Iran escalate.
A person familiar with the plan told the Associated Press that the USS Gerald R. Ford will join the USS Abraham Lincoln in patrolling the waters south of Iran. The Abraham Lincoln was moved from the South China Sea to the Arabian Sea in January as Iranian security forces moved to crush anti-government protests in major cities there.
The Gerald R. Ford travels with a strike group consisting of cruisers, destroyers, and logistics ships. It can carry up to 90 aircraft, including the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, EA-18G Growler, and F-35C.
The U.S. and Iran are once again negotiating over Tehran’s nuclear program, this time through intermediaries in Oman. The presence of a second aircraft carrier in the region is expected to increase the pressure on Iran’s leaders to cut a deal with Washington.
The U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear sites in June as part of Operation Midnight Hammer, but the White House is now seeking a final settlement that would see Tehran give up its enriched uranium, halt nuclear weapons development, and end support for proxy groups in the region.
Hanging over the talks is the prospect of renewed military engagement. Several Gulf countries have warned the U.S. that air attacks on Iran could trigger a disastrous regional war.
On February 3, U.S. forces shot down an Iranian Shahed drone that approached the Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea. There were no casualties on either side.
