Amid Iranian threats, US orders USS Nimitz to remain in the Middle East

Amid Iranian threats, US orders USS Nimitz to remain in the Middle East

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Miller said in a statement on Sunday night that he “ordered the USS Nimitz to stop its routine redistribution.” The aircraft carrier will now “remain in position in the US Central Command operations area,” added Miller. “No one should doubt the determination of the United States of America.”

Last week, the acting defense secretary decided against an impulse to extend the deployment of the aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, a surprising move due to the growing tensions between Washington and Tehran over the anniversary of the assassination of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in the year past. In the last days of 2020, the United States flew nuclear-powered B-52 bombers to the Middle East, prompting a senior Iranian military adviser to tweet directly to Trump, warning him “not to turn the New Year into mourning for Americans” .

Iran called on the United Nations Security Council on Thursday to prevent the United States from conducting what it called intensified “military adventurism” in the Gulf and the Oman Sea, including sending nuclear-powered bombers to the region, declaring who did not want conflict, but would defend himself if necessary.

According to American sources, some Iranian military forces have increased their levels of readiness in recent days, having moved short-range ballistic missiles to Iraq, where they could attack American bases, as Iran did in the days after Soleimani’s death in the year. past.

Trump took a consistently tough stance on Iran, with the two countries looking close to war at the time of Soleimani’s death, although tensions relaxed considerably during the coronavirus pandemic.

With the president’s time running out, some analysts in Washington speculate that Trump could unleash a conflict with Iran to distract him from his unsuccessful and unsubstantiated attempts to reverse his electoral defeat and complicate his successor’s plans for the region.

“I am genuinely concerned that the president may be thinking of overloading President-elect Biden with some sort of military operation on his way out the door,” said Tom Nichols, an international relations expert who teaches at US Naval War College.

Iran’s own foreign minister, Javad Zarif, accused on Thursday that Trump is creating a pretext for war.

President-elect Joe Biden wants to ease Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran, resume engagement and return to the nuclear deal with Iran, all measures the Trump administration is vehemently opposed to – and all the reasons, say some analysts , that if Iran conducts any type of attack, it would be carefully calibrated.

“Iran represents a real threat to US national security, especially during this period of high risk due to the anniversary of Soleimani’s murder,” said Sam Vinograd, a former National Security Council official and analyst with CNN.

However, Vinograd added: “I really think Iran will calibrate any attack associated with this anniversary because they don’t want to fit in before Biden takes office and apparently resumes nuclear talks that would lead to the lifting of sanctions.”

CNN’s James Griffiths contributed to this report.

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