Another U.S. aircraft carrier expected to head to Middle East, officials say

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The USS Gerald R. Ford craft bearer and its escort ships are expected to caput from the Caribbean to the Middle East, 3 U.S. officials told CBS News, adding a 2nd craft bearer to the portion arsenic tensions betwixt the U.S. and Iran proceed to simmer.

The Ford — which is the Navy's astir precocious craft carrier — is acceptable to articulation the USS Abraham Lincoln and its bearer onslaught group, which arrived successful the Middle East precocious past month. The portion is overseen by the U.S. military's Central Command.

The Ford bearer onslaught radical has been successful the Caribbean portion since November, portion of a broader subject buildup adjacent Venezuela. American forces successful that portion person conducted dozens of strikes connected alleged cause trafficking boats and, past month, captured former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.

The New York Times was archetypal to study connected the Ford's expected movement.

The planned deployment comes arsenic President Trump presses Iran to onslaught a atomic deal, threatening subject action against Iran if it doesn't hold to curb its atomic program. The president besides pressured Iran implicit its convulsive crackdown connected anti-regime protesters past month.

Mr. Trump has repeatedly warned successful caller weeks that a "massive armada" is connected its mode to Iran. In an interview with Axios connected Tuesday, Mr. Trump said helium was "thinking" astir sending different craft bearer onslaught radical to the Middle East region..

"Either we volition marque a woody oregon we volition person to bash thing precise pugnacious similar past time," helium told Axios, seemingly referring to a acceptable of U.S. strikes connected Iranian atomic sites successful June.

Mr. Trump told NBC News past week that Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, "should beryllium precise worried." Khamenei, meanwhile, warned that immoderate attacks by the U.S. would spark a "regional war" successful the Middle East.

Representatives from Iran and the U.S. held indirect talks successful Oman past week. Officials from some countries said the talks went well and that negotiations would continue.

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