WASHINGTON (AP) – The Pentagon has decided to send home the only Navy aircraft carrier operating in the Middle East, a move that will reduce US firepower in the region amid heightened tensions with Iran.
The decision, announced Thursday by Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, came a day after Air Force B-52 bombers flew non-stop from the United States to the Persian Gulf in a show of power that military officials said meant was to warn Iran against attacking US forces or interests.
Sending the aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz, home to the west coast of the US seems contrary to the idea that a show of force is needed to deter Iran. This could reflect a split within the defense establishment over whether Iran poses a heightened threat of strike in the waning days of the Trump administration.
When announcing the decision to send the Nimitz home, Miller made no mention of Iran.
Earlier this week, a US military officer close to the situation told reporters that the US had noticed signs that Iran was preparing for possible attacks on US or Allied targets in Iraq or elsewhere in the Middle East. This was the reason for sending two B-52 bombers from the US to fly briefly over the Gulf on Wednesday, the officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal reviews.
President Donald Trump recently called “chatter” that could strike Iran. Days after a Dec. 20 missile attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad by Iranian-backed Shia militias, Trump tweeted that Iran was aware.
“A friendly health advice to Iran: If an American is murdered, I will hold Iran accountable. Think about it, ”Trump wrote on Dec. 23. He added,“ We hear chatter about additional attacks on Americans in Iraq. “
The US concerns are linked to the approach of the Jan. 3 anniversary day of the US airstrike that killed Iran’s top commander, General Qassem Soleimani. Iran initially retaliated with a ballistic missile strike on a military base in neighboring Iraq that caused dozens of concussions, but no deaths among US forces. But US officials are concerned that Iran may be planning further retaliation.
Because of the potential for escalation that could lead to a wider war, the US has tried to deter Iran from additional attacks. Strategic calculations on both sides are further complicated by Washington’s political transition to a Biden government that may seek new ways to deal with Iran. For example, President-elect Joe Biden has said he hopes to bring the US back to a 2015 agreement with world powers in which Iran agreed to limit its nuclear activities in exchange for lifting international sanctions.
The US has maintained an almost continuous presence of aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf region since the USS Abraham Lincoln was dispatched in May 2019 out of concern that Iran is considering attacking US interests in the region. The US also sent additional attack planes on land and restored the presence of troops in Saudi Arabia.
The Nimitz was deployed from the US in April and was due to return before the end of the year. In early December, the planned return was postponed, in part out of concerns about possible Iranian threats, and more recently orders were given to support the relocation of US forces off the coast of Somalia.