Witkoff, Kushner tour aircraft carrier in Middle East amid Iran tensions, talks
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
US Special Representative for Peace Missions Steve Witkoff, along with Jared Kushner and US Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Admiral Brad Cooper, visited the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea on Saturday for a planned mission.
The visit comes amid tensions with Iran, a day after the United States and Iran held talks in Oman to discuss Iran’s nuclear program, with Witkoff saying soldiers “keep us safe and support President Trump’s message of peace through force.”
“We thanked the Sailors and Marines, observed live flight operations, and spoke with the pilot who shot down the Iranian drone that approached the ship without clear intent,” Witkoff wrote to X. “We are proud to stand with the men and women who defend our interests, deter our enemies, and show the world what American preparedness and determination look like every day on the watch.”
The aircraft carrier left San Diego for the Indo-Pacific region in November and departed for the Middle East in January.
IRAN PROMISED TO ‘TARGET US BASES’ IF AMERICAN FORCES LAUNCHED AN ATTACK: REPORT
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner flew aboard the USS Lincoln in the Arabian Sea on Saturday. (CENTCOM/X)
“I join the American people in expressing the incredible pride we have in the Sailors and Marines of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group,” Cooper told the soldiers. “Their commitment to the mission and their professionalism are on full display here in the Middle East, demonstrating U.S. military preparedness and strength.”
This comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced he would meet President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to discuss Iran.
THE IRANIAN OFFICIAL SAID THAT NUCLEAR TALKS WILL CONTINUE AFTER US, AND THAT THE TEHRAN NEGOTIATIONS HAD A ‘GOOD START’ IN OMAN
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner flew aboard the USS Lincoln with Adam Cooper on Saturday, according to officials. (CENTCOM/X)
“The Prime Minister believes that all negotiations should include limiting ballistic missiles and ending support for the Iranian axis,” Netanyahu’s office said, referring to Tehran’s support for groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas. he said.
The two leaders last met in September.
Trump described Friday’s Oman talks involving Witkoff and Kushner as “very good.”
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner greet Omani Foreign Minister Sayyed Badr Hamad Al Busaidi ahead of US-Iran talks in Oman’s capital Muscat on Friday. (Oman Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Anatolia via Getty Images)
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION
“Iran appears to want to make a very bad deal,” the president told reporters Friday aboard Air Force One en route to Mar-a-Lago. “We need to see what this deal is.”
