The US military said a third aircraft carrier had arrived in the Middle East, the highest number of American carriers deployed to the region in more than 20 years, according to analysts.
The announcement on Thursday came around the same time US President Donald Trump declined to give a timeline on when the Iran war could end, telling reporters at the White House: “Don’t rush me.”
US Central Command (CENTCOM), which coordinates American forces throughout the Middle East, announced in a social media post that the third aircraft carrier, the Nimitz-class USS George H.W. Bush, had transited into its area of responsibility.
The Bush, commissioned in 2009, is the newest of 10 Nimitz-class aircraft carriers in the US fleet. Almost 1,000 feet long and displacing more than 100,000 tons, it can carry more than 80 aircraft, is powered by two nuclear reactors and has more than 5,500 sailors and air crew aboard.
Asked about plans for the Bush, a defense official told CNN Thursday that the military does not “discuss force disposition, ship movements, or locations to protect service members and operational security.”
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