U.S. Navy returns USS Nimitz aircraft carrier to Arabian Gulf

At a time when the region is experiencing greater tension against the backdrop of increased U.S. and Israeli targeting of Iranian targets and high-profile personalities, the most recent of which was the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, U.S. media said that the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz entered the Arabian Gulf region.

A Pentagon official was quoted by CNN saying that moving Nimitz to the Arabian Gulf region was to provide combat support and air cover as U.S. forces are to withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan by mid-January. The decision was made by outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump before the assassination of Fakhrizadeh.

U.S. Fifth Fleet spokeswoman Rebecca Rebarich said in a statement that there are no direct or specific threats for the return of the Nimitz combat group to the Arabian Gulf, noting that their forces have sufficient capability to respond to any threat or move against U.S. presence in the Middle East.