US readying another aircraft carrier for deployment amid Iran tensions
Donald Trump has appeared to confirm that the United States is looking to further shore up military assets in the Middle East despite ongoing diplomacy to ease tensions with Iran.
The US president shared on his Truth Social platform on Thursday, without comment, a Wall Street Journal article titled Pentagon Prepares Second Aircraft Carrier to Deploy to the Middle East.
The story quoted US officials as saying that the Pentagon ordered the military to prepare an aircraft carrier strike group for deployment to the region to join the USS Abraham Lincoln, which is already there.
Later, a person familiar with the plans told The Associated Press news agency on Thursday that the world’s largest aircraft carrier has been ordered to sail from the Caribbean Sea to the Middle East.
The move by the USS Gerald R Ford, first reported by The New York Times, will put two carriers and their accompanying warships in the region as Trump increases pressure on Iran to make a deal over its nuclear programme. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military movements.
The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and three guided-missile destroyers arrived in the Middle East more than two weeks ago.
The reporting came hours after Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been pushing for hawkish policies against Tehran, at the White House and reaffirmed his preference for a diplomatic deal with Iran.
“There was nothing definitive reached other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a Deal can be consummated,” Trump wrote after the meeting with Netanyahu.
“If it can, I let the Prime Minister know that will be a preference. If it cannot, we will just have to see what the outcome will be.”
Last week, the US and Iran held their first round of indirect talks since last year in Oman. Both Washington and Tehran have said they would continue on the diplomatic path, but no further talks have been scheduled publicly yet.
