Photo: Collected
After a warning about fresh attacks on Iran following the midterm elections in November, the United States is sending another aircraft carrier to the Middle East along with a further 9,000 to 10,000 troops. The ‘USS Theodore Roosevelt’ and its strike group will reach the Middle East by the end of November.
Currently the ‘USS George HW Bush’ and the ‘USS George Washington’ are deployed in the Gulf region. Although the ‘USS George Washington’ usually stays in the Pacific Ocean, it has arrived in the Middle East to replace the ‘USS Abraham Lincoln’ after the latter’s long period of duty.
With this, the US Navy’s presence in the Middle East will stand at more than 20,000 sailors and Marines and hundreds of warplanes.
Trump rejected the peace proposal given by Iran at the UN General Assembly in New York last week. Tehran had said the proposal was sent to the United States through Qatari mediators. Trump told journalists at the White House that they want to make a deal on opening the Strait of Hormuz immediately, because they are being hurt miserably.
Hint of Iran link in flydubai incident
While talking to journalists on Wednesday, Trump hinted that there could be a link to Iran of the co-pilot who stabbed the captain of an Israel-bound flight and tried to crash the aircraft. In reply to the question whether there is any connection between that pilot and Iran, the US president said that based on what he is hearing the answer is yes, but work is going on on the matter.
On the question of whether the United States will take retaliatory measures if Iran is responsible for that attack, Trump said they will be hit hard, there is nothing to worry about on this. The journalists then wanted to know whether the IRGC had sent that person onto the aircraft, or whether he had been radicalised in some other way before taking the decision to crash the aircraft. In reply, Trump said that could be.
Source: NDTV
