U.S. aircraft carrier arrives in Middle East

U.S. aircraft carrier arrives in Middle East | Daily Tribune

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and accompanying destroyers have arrived in the Middle East, the US military said Wednesday, after the country’s defense secretary ordered the strike group to accelerate its speed.

The carrier’s arrival brings the number in the region to two — at least temporarily, as the Lincoln is to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt — at a time of heightened fears of regional conflict following high-profile assassinations claimed by, or blamed on, Israel.

“USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), equipped with F-35C and F/A-18 Block III fighters, entered the US Central Command (USCENTCOM) area of responsibility,” the military command responsible for the Middle East said on social media.

“The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 3, is accompanied by Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 21 and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9,” it added.

The Pentagon said on 11 August that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had ordered the Lincoln to “accelerate its transit” to the Middle East, after directing its deployment to the region at the beginning of the month.

Fears of a major escalation have mounted since Hezbollah and Iran vowed to respond to twin killings blamed on Israel late last month.

An Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs killed a top Hezbollah commander, Fuad Shukr, shortly before an attack in Tehran blamed on Israel killed Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

The killing of Haniyeh in Tehran triggered vows of vengeance from Iran and the so-called “axis of resistance.”

Meanwhile, another US warship sailed through a sensitive waterway separating Taiwan from China on Thursday, the US Navy said, as a way to demonstrate Washington’s “commitment to upholding freedom of navigation”.

The voyage by the guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson showed Washington’s “commitment to upholding freedom of navigation for all nations as a principle,” the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet said in a statement Thursday.