Pentagon’s second aircraft carrier for Middle East sparks WW3 fears | World | News
USS Lincoln is currently in the Middle East (Image: US NAVY/AFP via Getty Images)
The Pentagon is reportedly preparing a second aircraft carrier for potential deployment to the Middle East, according to three US officials. They revealed that President Donald Trump believes the United States is prepared to strike Iran if negotiations with the Islamic Republic collapse and is considering deploying an additional aircraft carrier.
“We’re either going to make a deal or we’re going to have to do something very difficult like last time,” Trump told Israeli news outlet N12, warning that the United States “has a navy that’s going there and another one could go too.”
An official told the WSJ that the deployment order “could be issued within hours,” although no formal order has yet been issued from Trump. The WSJ reported that the Pentagon is preparing a carrier to be deployed “within two weeks, probably from the East Coast.”
Currently, the aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush is conducting training exercises off the coast of Virginia and “could potentially step up those exercises,” officials said.
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USS Lincoln is currently in the Middle East along with several other ships. According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump also held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday about their country’s limits in nuclear negotiations with Iran.
“No definitive conclusion has been reached other than I insist that negotiations with Iran continue to see if a Deal can be completed,” Trump said on Truth Social after the meeting.
“Last time Iran decided it was better not to make a Deal and got hit with the Midnight Hammer. That didn’t work for them. There is literal PEACE in the Middle East.”
President Donald Trump met with Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday. (Image: Getty)
Trump acknowledged that “nothing definitive” was resolved in his meeting with Netanyahu, but insisted that talks with Iran must continue.
The Israeli leader was expected to pressure the president to reach an agreement that would stop Iran’s uranium enrichment while restricting its ballistic missile program.
Iran has hinted it is willing to limit the program in exchange for sanctions relief but has rejected other terms.
Pentagon is preparing to send its second aircraft carrier to the Middle East (Image: US NAVY/AFP via Getty Images)
Ahead of the White House meeting, Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian warned that his country “will not bow to their excessive demands.”
On Truth Social, Trump said the deal was his “preference” but if it can’t be brokered, “we’ll have to see what the outcome is.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Tehran that any attack on Israel would be met with “a force Iran has never seen before,” raising fears of World War III if the conflict occurs.
The statement comes as tensions in the Middle East have reached a new peak due to nationwide protests in Iran, the arrival of a US aircraft carrier strike group in the region and increasingly aggressive rhetoric from Washington.
