The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower approaches the Persian Gulf. According to the ship’s observers, Ike (that’s the “code name”) was spotted and escorted out of the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf of Oman. A defense official confirmed the carrier’s location to USNI News, but would not confirm whether it would enter the Persian Gulf soon. If the strike group passes through the Strait of Hormuz, it will be the first time a US aircraft carrier has sailed to the Persian Gulf since the USS Nimitz in late 2020.
Eisenhower’s mission
The ship departed Eisenhower on October 14 from Naval Station Norfolk. The strike group was initially supposed to be based in the Mediterranean and replace the USS Gerald R. Ford. But the United States changed its plan and directed it towards the Persian Gulf. Ike passed through the Suez Canal on November 4, then through Bab al-Mandab in the Gulf of Aden over the weekend.
American-Iranian tension
The Strait of Hormuz represents a bottleneck between the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf, which is partly controlled by Iran. For this reason, Eisenhower’s movements did not go unnoticed. The US deterrence move against Iran has so far kept Tehran in a waiting position in the context of the ongoing conflict in Israel. But tensions in the Middle East are always high. Ike’s latest stance appears to have fueled this. The attack on the US Tal Baidar military base in Syria, which was hit by missiles fired by pro-Iranian forces in the region, is not a coincidence.
The ship that Iran spied on
Last November 6, Iran wanted to send a warning to the United States, in which a video shot by a drone showed Eisenhower and all of its firepower as it approached the Persian Gulf. “We are watching you closely,” is the message that Tehran implicitly wanted to convey. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed ownership of the drone video: “Now that the USS Dwight D.
Crossed messages
On the day that Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said that he had sent messages to the United States stating that he did not want a large-scale war with America’s opponents, Iraqi fighters loyal to Iran fired missiles at the American military base in Tal Baydar, in northeastern Syria, near It is another American site in the Arab country that has been suffering from an internal and regional war that has been going on for more than 12 years. A few hours earlier, the Israeli Air Force bombed alleged warehouses of Lebanese Hezbollah, also an ally of Iran, on the outskirts of Damascus, killing at least two militiamen, both of whom held non-Syrian nationality. In this regard, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad, who represents a force supported militarily and politically by both Russia and Iran, warned Israel against “persisting in its attacks on Syrian territory.” In the evening, unidentified gunmen fired explosive devices at the ‘Imam Ali’ base of the Iranian Pasdaran forces in the Syrian Albukamal region on the border with Iraq. Iran confirms that it does not deploy its men in this corner of the lands located between Syria and Iraq. But beyond Iraq and the Gulf, the USS Eisenhower approached near Hormuz. It has been three years since an American aircraft carrier entered those waters and touched the coast of Iran. The potential crossing of the Strait by Eisenhower, coupled with the presence of other American warships in the eastern Mediterranean, could set an explosive precedent in the context of current tension. “We believe that the deployment of American aircraft carriers in the region does not constitute a strength for the United States. Instead, we believe this makes them more vulnerable to potential attacks.” But the minister himself confirmed that he had provided guarantees to the United States that “Iran does not want the war to expand.”
Expanded conflict
He added, “Given the approach taken by the United States and Israel in the region, if crimes against the residents of Gaza and the West Bank do not stop, all possibilities can be considered, and the outbreak of a broader conflict may prove inevitable.” . Just a few hours ago, Iranian General Ismail Qaani, commander of the IRGC’s Quds Brigade (Pasdaran), sent an “open letter” to Hamas and Hezbollah fighters, stating that Tehran “will do everything necessary for this historic battle.” The so-called “axis of resistance,” referring to the alliance between Iran and other anti-Israel armed groups, “will not allow the enemy to achieve its goals in Palestine, and in particular, in the Gaza Strip.” Intense exchanges of fire continued throughout the day between Lebanese Hezbollah and the Israeli army. Media in Beirut reported Israel’s use of phosphorus bombs, prohibited by international law, in areas inhabited by civilians, along the strip closest to Lebanese territory to the front line.
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