Middle East tensions: US warship leaves naval base amid nuclear talks with Iran

The USS Gerald R Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, left a naval base in Crete on Thursday, as Washington steps up military pressure on Iran amid renewed nuclear talks.The carrier had been docked at the US naval support activity Souda Bay base in Crete since Monday. Its departure coincided with a fresh round of indirect talks between the United States and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear programme, mediated by Oman’s foreign minister, which opened in Geneva on Thursday morning, reported AFP. The United States has been reinforcing its military presence in the region, with more than a dozen warships currently deployed in the Middle East. These include the USS Abraham Lincoln, nine destroyers and three other combat ships. It is rare for two US aircraft carriers, vessels that carry dozens of warplanes and are crewed by thousands of sailors, to be stationed in the region at the same time.The US embassy in Athens declined to comment on the carrier’s presence in Crete, referring queries to the Pentagon in Washington, according to AFP.President Donald Trump ordered strikes on Iran last year and has repeatedly warned Tehran of further military action if it does not agree to a new deal on its nuclear programme, which Western countries suspect is aimed at developing an atomic weapon. Iran maintains that its programme is for peaceful purposes.The movement of the carrier comes at a sensitive diplomatic juncture, as indirect negotiations resume under Omani mediation.