The United States is sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East amid escalating tensions with Iran, U.S. media outlets reported on Thursday, 12 February, in an effort to reinforce its naval presence as diplomatic efforts falter.
The nuclear‑powered aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its escort ships are being redeployed from the Caribbean to the Middle East.
The Gerald R. Ford departed Norfolk, Virginia, in June for a deployment originally intended to include European waters, but it was rerouted to the Caribbean to support broader U.S. military operations. This included the involvement of the Ford’s aircraft in a January operation in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.
Four U.S. officials told The New York Times that the ship’s crew was informed of the decision on Thursday and that the Gerald R. Ford battle group is now unlikely to return to its home port until late April or early May.
The move comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has publicly weighed sending another carrier if negotiations with Iran on a nuclear deal do not yield results.
“We have to make a deal, otherwise it’s going to be very traumatic, very traumatic,” Trump told reporters, while suggesting a diplomatic solution might still be possible.
The deployment underscores continued strains between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear programme and broader regional influence, even as indirect talks have taken place in Oman with little breakthrough reported.
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The U.S. and Iran have reportedly reached a preliminary 60-day ceasefire and nuclear talks deal, pending Donald Trump’s approval, Axios reports. Meanwhile, the GCC condemned Iran’s missile strike on a U.S. airbase in Kuwait, which Tehran said was retaliation for a U.S. strike near Bandar Abbas.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Kazakhstan on Wednesday for a three-day state visit focused on energy, transport and economic cooperation with one of Moscow’s closest regional partners.
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Senior U.S. State Department officials spent three days in Georgia meeting ministers, opposition figures and Church leaders as Washington intensifies its strategic engagement across the South Caucasus.
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