Trump says he's sending second aircraft carrier to Mideast as he seeks Iran deal

President Donald Trump said Friday that he decided to move a second aircraft carrier into the Middle East as he presses Iran to make a deal over its nuclear programThe USS Gerald R Ford the worlds largest aircraft carrier is being sent from the Caribbean Sea to the Mideast to join other warships and military assets the US has built up in the regionThe planned deployment comes just days after Trump suggested another round of talks with the Iranians was at hand Those negotiations didnt materialise as one of Tehrans top security officials visited Oman and Qatar this week and exchanged messages with US intermediariesIn case we dont make a deal well need it Trump told reporters about the second carrier as he left the White House for a military base in North Carolina He added Itll be leaving very soonAlready Gulf Arab nations have warned any attack could spiral into another regional conflict in a Mideast still reeling from the IsraelHamas war in the Gaza StripMeanwhile Iranians are beginning to hold 40day mourning ceremonies for the thousands killed in Tehrans bloody crackdown on nationwide protests last month adding to the internal pressure faced by the sanctionsbattered Islamic RepublicThe Ford whose new deployment was first reported by The New York Times will join the USS Abraham Lincoln and its accompanying guidedmissile destroyers which have been in the region for over two weeksUS forces already have shot down an Iranian drone that approached the Lincoln on the same day last week that Iran tried to stop a USflagged ship in the Strait of HormuzFord had been part of Venezuela strike forceIt is a quick turnaround for the Ford which Trump sent from the Mediterranean Sea to the Caribbean last October as the administration built up a huge military presence in the leadup to the surprise raid last month that captured thenVenezuelan President Nicolas MaduroIt also appears to be at odds with the Trump administrations national security and defense strategies which put an emphasis on the Western Hemisphere over other parts of the worldIn response to questions about the movement of the Ford US Southern Command said American forces in Latin America will continue to counter illicit activities and malign actors in the Western HemisphereWhile force posture evolves our operational capability does not Col Emanuel Ortiz spokesperson for Southern Command said in a statement US forces remain fully ready to project power defend themselves and protect US interests in the regionTrump who is in Fort Bragg to celebrate members of the special forces who captured Maduro warned Iran this week that failure to reach a deal with his administration would be very traumatic Iran and the United States held indirect talks in Oman last weekI guess over the next month something like that Trump said Thursday when asked about his timeline for striking a deal with Iran on its nuclear program It should happen quickly They should agree very quicklyTrump held lengthy talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday and said he insisted to Israels leader that negotiations with Iran needed to continueNetanyahu is urging the administration to press Tehran to scale back its ballistic missile program and end its support for militant groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah as part of any dealThe USS Ford deployed in late June 2025 which means the crew will have been deployed for eight months in two weeks time While it is unclear how long the ship will remain in the Middle East the move sets the crew up for an unusually long deploymentFords deployment comes as Iran mournsIran at home faces stillsimmering anger over its wideranging suppression of all dissent That rage may intensify in the coming days as families of the dead begin the traditional 40day mourning for loved ones Already online videos have shown mourners gathering in different parts of the country holding portraits of their deadOne video purported to show mourners at a graveyard in Irans Razavi Khorasan province on Thursday There with a large portable speaker people sang the patriotic song Ey Iran which dates to 1940s Iran under the rule of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi While initially banned after the 1979 Islamic Revolution Irans theocratic government has played it to drum up supportOh Iran a land of full of jewels your soil is full of art they sang May evil wishes be far from you May you live eternal Oh enemy if you are a piece of granite I am ironThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever