Posted in Military Matters

Pentagon Orders Nimitz Aircraft Carrier to Remain in Middle East in Response to Iranian Threat

 2021年1月4日

The U.S. Department of Defense has ordered the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz to remain in the Middle East in response to a possible Iranian military strike against U.S. targets.

Acting Defense Secretary Miller said in a statement Sunday (Jan. 3, 2021), “Due to recent threats made by Iranian leaders against President Trump and other U.S. government officials, I have ordered the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz to cease carrying out its routine redeployment and will remain in the area of operations where U.S. Central Command is located. No one should doubt the resolve of the United States.”

The Pentagon had announced earlier that it was moving the Nimitz carrier out of the Middle East and back to the United States as originally planned. But on the first anniversary of the Jan. 3 U.S. drone strike that killed senior Iranian general Soleimani, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and senior military officials threatened retaliatory strikes against the United States.

On that day, tens of thousands of pro-Iranian demonstrators took to the streets of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, to mark the first anniversary of Suleimani’s death.

No Iranian-backed group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq on the 20th of last month, which was allegedly the worst attack in a decade. President Trump has accused Iran of being behind the attack on the U.S. Embassy.

The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz has been stationed overseas since June of last year. The officers and men of this carrier battle group have not been able to reunite with their families since last April due to the effects of the New Coronavirus pandemic.

The Nimitz carrier spent most of this period on missions in the Persian Gulf, the North Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman, but in July, it entered the South China Sea with the USS Reagan carrier to conduct maritime exercises to enhance the joint maritime force’s ability to respond to regional emergencies and maintain combat vigilance. Later, the Nimitz carrier strike group conducted joint exercises with the Indian Navy in the Indian Ocean.