The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, and its escort ships, which are currently stationed in the Caribbean Sea, will be transferred to the Middle East, according to four US officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to the newspaper. The New York Times.
The announcement comes amid growing tension between Donald Trump’s government and the Iranian regime.
The crew were notified of the decision this Thursday (12). The aircraft carrier should remain stationed in the region until at least the beginning of May, according to the sources.
The US already has another strike group positioned in the Persian Gulf, the USS Abraham Lincoln, as part of the pressure campaign against Tehran. Trump had already signaled this week that he intended to send a second aircraft carrier to the region, but did not give details of what it might be.
Aircraft carrier was used in operation to capture dictator Maduro
The USS Gerald R. Ford was redirected to the Caribbean in October for the operation aimed at reinforcing the fight against international drug trafficking in Latin America.
Months later, the Americans intensified pressure on Venezuela and ended up capturing dictator Nicolás Maduro on January 3.
The vessel is considered the largest and most powerful warship ever built and became the ultimate symbol of American naval superiority.
Trump insisted this Thursday on the need to reach a nuclear agreement with Iran, because “otherwise it will be very traumatic” for the country. According to the Republican leader, Tehran should “have reached an agreement the first time. Instead, they suffered the Midnight Hammer (referring to Operation Midnight Hammer), in which the US bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities last June.
Negotiations to close a nuclear deal between the US and Iran resumed last week, in the first meeting since the 12-day war that took place in June last year between Iran and Israel, in which Washington participated and bombed Iranian nuclear facilities.
