The US military added another warship to its large Middle East buildup in recent days, and a second carrier strike group is on its way, bringing additional fighter jets and missiles toward the region.
The large-scale deployment of American forces to the Middle East has escalated significantly this month as the Trump administration pressures Iran to strike a deal that would limit its nuclear and military capabilities.
As the US Navy’s Middle East force presence has grown, its footprint in the Caribbean Sea — once the site of a substantial show of force ahead of US military action against Venezuela and its former president Nicolás Maduro — has shrunk dramatically.
There are 10 warships and an aircraft carrier positioned in the Central Command area of responsibility, the Middle East, and two more vessels situated on the outskirts of the region, according to a defense official.
Middle East
Much of the US naval force in the Middle East was operating in the Arabian Sea as of Tuesday. That includes the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its strike group — the guided-missile destroyers USS Spruance, USS Frank E. Petersen Jr., and USS Michael Murphy.
The Lincoln has dozens of embarked aircraft, including fighters, electronic attack jets, and early warning planes. The destroyers escorting the carrier are equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles. Among its air wing are F-35 stealth fighters.
Three additional destroyers — USS Mitscher, USS McFaul, and USS Pinckney — are also in the Arabian Sea. Pinckney arrived in the region in the past couple of days, the defense official said.
Another destroyer, USS Delbert D. Black, is in the Red Sea. And three littoral combat ships — USS Santa Barbara, USS Tulsa, and USS Canberra — are in the Arabian Gulf. These warships are designed for near-shore operations.
European waters
USS Roosevelt and USS Bulkeley, two destroyers capable of ballistic missile defense, are operating in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, which is part of US Naval Forces Europe and Africa’s area of responsibility.
The defense official said the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group — destroyers USS Mahan, USS Winston S. Churchill, and USS Bainbridge — are also operating under that command, which covers the eastern half of the Atlantic Ocean.
The Ford carrier strike group had been operating in the Caribbean for months. However, earlier this month, it was reported that the Navy’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier was being sent to the Middle East.
As of Wednesday, the aircraft carrier was operating off the coast of Morocco near the Strait of Gibraltar, ship-tracking data shows.
Two additional destroyers — USS Thomas Hudner and USS Stockdale — that were previously in the Caribbean are now in the US Naval Forces Europe and Africa area of responsibility as well.
Caribbean
The departure of Ford and the five destroyers has diminished the Navy’s presence in the Caribbean, which falls under the Southern Command area of responsibility.
The US armed forces initially positioned a large number of warships in the waters near Venezuela last year as part of President Donald Trump’s effort to pressure Maduro. A few weeks after his capture, a dozen vessels were still present in the region.
Now, only five remain, the defense official said. Those include the cruiser USS Lake Erie, the destroyer USS Truxtun, the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima, and the amphibious transport dock ships USS Fort Lauderdale and USS San Antonio.
Eyes on Iran
The US and Iran held indirect talks earlier in the week, and officials hinted that additional dialogue could be on the horizon.
However, US military assets — including aircraft such as fighter jets and refueling tankers — are still moving into and toward the Middle East, giving Trump plenty of options to strike Iran for a second time, which he has threatened. The US military bombed Iran’s nuclear sites last year as part of Operation Midnight Hammer.
Iran, meanwhile, conducted military exercises in the strategic Strait of Hormuz this week, and Tehran’s leadership warned the US warships deployed to the region that it is capable of sinking them in the event of a fight.
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