The United States has scrapped plans to move its aircraft carrier out of the middle East in light of Iran's threats, acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller said on the first anniversary of assassination of senior Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.
"Due to the recent threats issued by Iranian leaders against President Trump and other U.S.
government officials, I have ordered the USS Nimitz to halt its routine redeployment. The USS Nimitz will now remain on station in the U.S. Central Command area of operations. No one should doubt the resolve of the United States of America," Miller said in a statement, published late on Sunday.
In late December, the Pentagon said that the USS Nimitz would return home despite heightened tensions with Iran.
Just three days after announcing that the USS Nimitz was leaving the Persian Gulf, the Pentagon has reversed the decision, saying the warship would remain in the Middle East due to Iranian ‘threats’ against President Donald Trump.
ReplyDeleteThe order to continue the mission was given on Sunday by Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller, who said “no one should doubt the resolve of the United States of America” in a short statement. The news came exactly a year after the US assassination of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.
Just three days prior, Miller had directed the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group to return home to Bremerton, Washington, after a longer-than-usual 10-month mission, complementing the crew on “the hard work, commitment, and flexibility” shown during the deployment, and notably failing to mention Iran at all. The rotation was perceived by some US media as a gesture aimed at de-escalating the tension with Iran ahead of the anniversary.