Donald Trump sends USS Gerald R Ford to Middle East as tensions with Iran grow — is the US planning a strike on Tehran?

President Donald Trump ordered USS Gerald R. Ford to move from the Caribbean Sea to the Middle East amid the tension with Iran, a US official confirmed to Fox News.

This will put 2 aircraft carriers and their accompanying warships in the region. The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and 3 guided-missile destroyers arrived in the Middle East more than 2 weeks ago.


The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and three guided-missile destroyers arrived in the Middle East more than two weeks ago.

Is Trump planning another strike on Iran

The USS Ford, which set out on deployment in June 2025, was sent from the Mediterranean Sea to the Caribbean last fall as the administration established a significant military presence ahead of the operation to strike Venezuela and capture its president, Nicolás Maduro.

On Thursday, Trump warned Iran that failure to reach a deal with the US regarding its nuclear programme would be "very traumatic" after the 2 countries held indirect talks in Oman last week.

"It should happen quickly. They should agree very quickly," he told reporters.

Trump held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday and said he insisted to the Israeli leader that negotiations with Iran must continue.

Netanyahu is calling on the Trump administration to push Tehran to scale back its ballistic missile programme and end its support for terror groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah as part of any deal.

Nothing is confirmed, but earlier, Israel seems to be taking some time from US before America could launch strike against Iran.