The US Navy’s supercarrier USS Gerald R. Ford is now operating in the U.S. Central Command area, two defense officials confirmed to USNI News on Friday. The Ford departed the Eastern Mediterranean late last week, transited the Suez Canal, and has entered the Red Sea, accompanied by destroyers USS Mahan (DDG-72) and USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81).
Ford departed Split, Croatia, on April 2, after repairs following a March 12 laundry room fire while the carrier was in the Red Sea.
USS Ford joins the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group already in CENTCOM. USS Abraham Lincoln, its escorts, and the embarked Carrier Air Wing 9 have been operating in the Middle East since January. USS Tripoli and amphibious warships USS New Orleans and USS Rushmore are also in the Arabian Sea with the Japan-based 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit embarked.
The move comes as the US Navy ramps up its presence in the Middle East with a third carrier strike group. The USS George H.W. Bush is taking the long route around the southern tip of Africa to reach the region, bypassing the Red Sea amid ongoing security concerns.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump believes that Washington is in a strong position to negotiate with Iran, as his team is prepared to hold a second round of talks in Islamabad.
“We’re going to end up with a great deal. I think they have no choice…We’re in a very, very strong negotiating position,” Trump told broadcaster CNBC.
A US delegation led by Vice President JD Vance was expected to leave Washington shortly for Islamabad, which earlier this month hosted a first round of talks that ended without progress. However, there was no confirmation of Vance’s departure.
Trump is pressing Iran to give up its uranium stockpile and end attempts to control the strategic Hormuz waterway used to transport Middle East oil and other commodities. Despite being hit by weeks of US and Israeli bombing, Iran has so far refused to budge.
In a social media post, Trump told Iran it could boost the chances of success in peace talks with the United States by freeing eight women that he said face execution. “I would greatly appreciate the release of these women,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Would be a great start to our negotiations!”
Trump’s statement accompanied a re-posting of a claim on X by a pro-Israel youth activist in the United States, Eyal Yakoby, that eight women faced death by hanging. Yakoby posted photographs of eight women, but no names.
Meanwhile, Pakistan said that a two-week ceasefire between the USA and Iran would expire at 2350 GMT on Tuesday. “Ceasefire ends at 4:50 am PST, 22 April,” Information Minister Attaullah Tarar posted on X, referring to Pakistan Standard Time.
The truce was expected to end overnight Tuesday, but in comments to Bloomberg, US President Donald Trump said it would expire a day later, on Wednesday evening Washington time.
Trump said it was “highly unlikely” he would agree to extend it.
Pakistan invited the warring sides to a second round of talks in Islamabad, but Iran has yet to formally respond, Tarar said. He added that a decision by Tehran was “critical” before the truce expired.
By Agence France-Presse (AFP) with ET Online Desk Inputs
