US aircraft carrier likely to exit Middle East as Iran talks stagnate: Report

Washington DC [US], April 30 :
A US aircraft carrier, alongwith its strike group is likely to vacate the West Asia region in a few days, CBS reported, citing confirmation by a top US official on Wednesday (local time).

The USS Gerald R Ford, which will be leaving the Middle East, is one of the three US carriers in the region, as per CBS News. This development comes even as US President Donald Trump has refused to lift the Strait of Hormuz blockade and possibly mulls over a fresh wave of military action in Iran.

As the US-Iran talks stagnate, the return of the aircraft carrier will grant relief to almost 4,500 sailors deployed there for over 10 months. The other two aircraft carriers are the USS George HW Bush and the USS Abraham Lincoln, as per the Washington Post.

The Ford is deployed in the Red Sea, with the Lincoln and Bush are operating in the Arabian Sea to enforce the US blockade targeting vessels carrying oil or goods from Iranian ports, the Washington Post reported. Thus, Ford's return will reduce the US might in the blockade.

The carrier has been deployed for 309 days, the longest time any modern US aircraft has been sea-borne. The long duration has worn off the ship, one being the laundry room fire which injured several sailors and issues with the toilets. As per the Washington Post report, once the ship returns to Virgina around mid-May, it would go through more repairs and maintenance.

As reported by The Washington Post, during a congressional hearing on Wednesday (local time), several questioned US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on the carrier's extended deployment.

"A tough decision-making process led to the extension," Hegseth said, "in consultation with the Navy."
Typical carrier deployments last six or seven months to keep the ships on their maintenance schedules, as per The Washington Post.

Earlier, news outlet Axios reported that CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper is set to debrief US President Donald Trump as the Military mulls a new wave of operations in Iran.

Meanwhile, as per a report by the Wall Street Journal, US President Donald Trump has instructed his aides to prepare for an extended blockade of Iran. According to officials, it is a high-risk bid to compel a nuclear capitulation Tehran has long refused.

In a bid to blow up Iran's economy, Trump opted to continue blocking its oil exports by preventing shipping to and from its ports. He assessed that his other options--resume bombing or walk away from the conflict--carried more risk than maintaining the blockade, The Wall Street Journal reported. (ANI)