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By Hollie Silverman
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Video shows the U.S. Navy’s USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier transiting the Strait of Gibraltar and entering the Mediterranean Sea on Friday as the U.S. expands a visible buildup of air and naval power around Iran.
The move placed the world’s largest warship and its strike group closer to potential operating areas as President Donald Trump weighs possible military action if negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program fail in the coming days.
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Why It Matters
The U.S. wants Iran to give up uranium enrichment altogether—the process by which fuel is created for atomic power plants but also provides material for a warhead. Washington and its regional ally Israel have also voiced demands for Iran to concede its ballistic missiles, withdraw support for its network of allies around the Middle East and face accountability for the deadly crackdown on protesters at the turn of the year.
Iran has refused to expand negotiation talks to those issues beyond its nuclear program and has repeatedly said restrictions on its missile arsenal are a red line issue it won't touch.
Trump’s ongoing deployment of U.S. military assets and weapons toward the region undercut reports of progress between U.S. and Iranian negotiators at talks last week in Geneva, Switzerland, regarding the latter's nuclear program.
Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has warned the U.S. against launching a war to restrict its nuclear powers, noting "there is no military solution to Iran's nuclear program."
Araghchi told MS Now, formerly MSNBC, this military build-up is “absolutely unnecessary and unhelpful” and is classed as “hostility shown to us by the United States.”
What To Know
On Thursday, Trump issued a 10 to 15-day deadline to Iran to come back with a draft of a nuclear deal or else "bad things will happen,” at the first meeting of his Board of Peace in Washington. But he also said he preferred a diplomatic solution, despite repeatedly using fiery rhetoric that threatened strikes.
On Friday, the president reiterated he could take military action. When asked at a governors' breakfast at the White House whether he's weighing a limited initial military strike on Iran, he told reporters: "Well, I guess I can tell you, I am considering it.”
Images have since surfaced showing USS Gerald R. Ford heading east through the Strait of Gibraltar on Friday. Ship-tracking websites also corroborated the passage of USS Mahan, a destroyer in the Ford’s strike group, according to the BBC.
The Ford’s presence, alongside USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, reintroduced a dual-carrier posture, with analysts noting the carriers’ air wings could sustain continuous strikes for days if ordered, according to a report from Stars and Stripes.
The Ford and its escorts, including the destroyers USS Winston S. Churchill and USS Bainbridge, have all transited the strait, the BBC reported.
There has also been an increase in U.S. military flights, with at least 31 C-17 transports, seven C-5 transports and nine KC-135 tankers in a 24-hour period with “RCH” call signs associated with Air Mobility Command, BBC reported, noting the movements were higher than normal.
The movement comes days after more than 50 U.S. Air Force and Navy aircraft headed east over an eight-hour window Wednesday.
Araghchi said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe “the U.S. side has not asked for zero enrichment,” emphasizing diplomacy while warning Iran would defend itself if attacked.
Thursday saw Iranian and Russian forces carrying out a mock rescue from a hijacked vessel at the Port of Bandar Abbas near the Strait of Hormuz in Hormozgan, Iran.
Araghchi also pushed back on Friday regarding Trump's claim that U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear and military sites last June had "decimated" the country's nuclear program, adding that during the “huge attack" by the U.S. and Israel, “they killed and assassinated our scientists, but they couldn't kill our nuclear program.”
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What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump said Thursday, per CBS News: “Now is the time for Iran to join us on a path that will complete what we’re doing...If they join us, that’ll be great. If they don’t join us, that’ll be great, too. But it’ll be a very different path.”
He added: “If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. But bad things will happen if it doesn’t."
James Holmes, chair of maritime strategy at the U.S. Naval War College, said Friday, per Stars and Stripes: “Add in all of the U.S. Air Force aircraft flowing into the region, plus bombers that could strike from very far away, and you have some serious—and sustainable—firepower.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe: “We have not offered any suspension, and the U.S. side has not asked for zero enrichment. What we are now talking about is how to make sure that Iran's nuclear program, including enrichment, is peaceful and would remain peaceful forever.”
What Happens Next
Analysts told Stars and Stripes the Ford could pause in the eastern Mediterranean to bolster air defense coverage for Israel or continue toward the Indian Ocean to operate alongside the Lincoln strike group, while U.S. air and naval assets continue flowing to the region.
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