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A senior US Department of Defense official announced Monday that President Donald Trump has ordered Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller to order an aircraft carrier to return to the Middle East, after a meeting at the White House on Sunday.
A senior US Department of Defense official said Monday that President Donald Trump ordered Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller to order an aircraft carrier to return to the Middle East, after a meeting at the White House on Sunday.
Notably, the decision is a reversal of Miller’s order last week to send the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz out of the region, in part to send a calming signal to Iran, amid mounting tensions between Washington and Tehran, according to CNN.
The official emphasized that Miller’s de-escalation idea had not been adopted as official policy. Various sources said the matter came as a surprise to top leaders, as the US Central Command wanted the carrier to remain in the region due to Iran’s deterrence policy.
Additionally, the White House and the National Security Council did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.
“It will stay in place”
Miller reportedly announced Sunday that “the aircraft carrier Nimitz will remain in place due to Iranian threats against President Trump and other US government officials.”
He said in a statement that he ordered the Nimitz carrier to halt its routine redeployment, adding that the carrier “will remain at its location in the US Central Command area of operations.”
He also stressed: “No one should doubt the determination of the United States of America.”
Iranian threats
In the past two days, threats from various Iranian officials increased with the arrival of the first anniversary of the assassination of the Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force commander, Qassem Soleimani, on January 3 last year.
Ismail Qaani, commander of the Quds Force, hinted that revenge for Iran’s most prominent leader could be launched from within US territories.
In turn, Brigadier General Hossein Dehghan, adviser to the commander-in-chief of the Iranian armed forces, said that all military bases are within range of his missiles, adding: “I advise Trump not to turn the new year into a funeral for Americans “.
Furthermore, the Defense Minister, Brigadier General Amir Hatami, threatened to retaliate against Soleimani by punishing those who ordered his assassination and those who executed him, considering that the great revenge remains with the Americans who leave the region. Meanwhile, Ibrahim Raisi, head of Iran’s judiciary, said: “Soleimani’s assassins, including Trump, will not be safe anywhere in the world.”
It is noteworthy that since last year and this assassination operation, tension has intensified between Iran and the United States, and the last few days have witnessed a significant and sharp increase in the level of threats between the two sides.
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