Trump says USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier headed to Middle East to pressure Iran

(NEW YORK) — President Donald Trump on Friday said that a second American aircraft carrier will be “leaving very soon” to the Middle East to put pressure on Iran.

As he departed the White House for a trip to North Carolina, Trump told reporters that he’s ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford to the Middle East in case “we don’t make a deal” as negotiations between the U.S. and Iran continue over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Those talks are taking place amid Trump’s threats to take military action against Iran isn’t willing to make a deal.

“Well, in case we don’t make a deal, we’ll need it, and if we don’t have a deal, we’ll need it. If we have a deal, we could cut it short. It’ll be leaving — it’ll be leaving very soon. We have one out there that just arrived. If we need it, we will — we have it ready. A very big force,” Trump said.

When asked how confident he is that negotiations will go well, Trump showed confidence, but said that if they don’t go well, Iran would face consequences.

“I think they’ll be successful and if they’re not, it’s going to be a bad day for Iran. Very bad,” he said.

Later, when asked whether he has a deadline for Iran, Trump remained coy, saying: “In my mind I do, yeah.”

The Ford carrier strike group is expected to leave the Caribbean and head toward the Middle East in the coming days, according to three U.S. officials.

The deployment of the Ford and the three destroyers accompanying it will mean that there will be two aircraft carriers in the Middle East as it joins the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group.

The deployment comes after Trump said earlier this week in an interview with Axios that he was considering sending a second carrier to the Middle East if talks with Iran about its nuclear program did not succeed.  

The crew of the carrier and the supporting ships were told on Thursday about the new deployment to the Middle East, according to the officials.

The New York Times first reported the Ford’s new deployment to the Middle East.

The Ford is now expected to return to its home port in Norfolk around late April or early May, according to one U.S. official.  The carrier had left Norfolk in late June for what was to be a seven-month deployment to Europe, but in late October it was redirected towards the Caribbean as part of the Trump administration’s large buildup of military forces to counter South American drug cartels.

A U.S. Southern Command spokesperson has issued provided a statement to ABC News saying that “While force posture evolves, our operational capability does not.” It adds that “SOUTHCOM forces remain fully ready to project power, defend themselves, and protect U.S. interests in the region.”

The carrier strike group will once again cross the Atlantic and the Mediterranean for a deployment that could now last as long as 10 months.

The Ford is the world’s largest carrier and its presence in the Caribbean was seen as putting pressure on then-Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his government.    

Some of the aircraft aboard the carrier participated in the Jan. 3 raid in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas that led to Maduro’s capture.

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