SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Pentagon said on Sunday that it had ordered the aircraft carrier Nimitz to remain in the Middle East due to Iran’s threats against President Donald Trump and other American officials.
U.S. Defense Secretary Christopher C. Miller ordered the vessel on December 31 to “transit directly home to complete a nearly 10-month deployment.”
The New York Times cited U.S. defense officials as saying that this move was part of a “de-escalatory” signal to Tehran to avoid a conflict in President Donald Trump’s last days in office.
“Due to the recent threats issued by Iranian leaders against President [Donald] Trump and other U.S. government officials, I have ordered the USS Nimitz to halt its routine redeployment,” Miller said in a statement on Sunday.
“The USS Nimitz will now remain on station in the U.S. Central Command area of operations. No one should doubt the resolve of the United States of America,” he added.
In recent days there has been increased concern and vigilance about what Iranian-backed forces might do in the lead up to the anniversary of a Jan. 3 U.S. drone strike in Iraq that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, according to a U.S. official.
Esmail Ghaani who succeeded Soleimani as head of the elite Quds Force said on Friday that Iran was still ready to respond.
“From inside your own house, there may emerge someone who will retaliate for your crime,” he said at a televised event to mark the anniversary at Tehran University.
“American mischief will not deter the Quds force from carrying on its resistance path,” he added.
The United States and Iraq have also warned Iran and Iranian-backed militias that any attack on American diplomats or military personnel would be met with swift retaliation, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
The United States and Iran have twice come to the brink of war since June 2019, especially following the killing of Soleimani.
Days after the Soleimani assassination, Iran launched a volley of missiles at Iraqi bases housing US and other coalition troops, with Trump refraining from any further military response.
