A third US aircraft carrier has entered Middle Eastern waters — marking the highest number of American warships in the region in over two decades as peace talks between Tehran and Washington hang in the balance.
The USS George H.W. Bush — a 1,000-foot-long, nuclear-powered carrier that can transport more than 80 aircraft — joined the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald R. Ford in the Indian Ocean on Friday, US Central Command announced on X.
The extra firepower in the region will significantly bolster the US blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz — through which 20% of the world’s oil passes — and comes as President Trump threatened to resume bombing Iran if the regime doesn’t make a deal soon.
More than 200 aircraft and 15,000 sailors and Marines are on board the trio of warships, according to Centcom, which said the last time three carriers operated simultaneously in the region was in 2003.
Though a defense official declined to “discuss force disposition, ship movements, or locations to protect service members and operational security,” the Bush’s arrival sends a strong political message, retired US Navy Capt. Carl Schuster told CNN.
“Just the potential of a third carrier getting involved adds to the pressure facing the (Iranian) regime as peace talks approach,” Schuster told the outlet.
“The message is that Trump may apply more pain if the peace talks don’t advance in the way Trump wants. The political imagery is as, and possibly more important, than the military action,” he explained.
Unlike the Ford, the Bush is equipped to carry the newest F-35 fighter jets — which could be a beneficial war tactic if Trump and Iranian leaders can’t settle on a peace deal soon.
“Having two F-35-capable carriers adds a lot of firepower if Iran proves intransigent,” Schuster told CNN.
In order to avoid running into Iranian-armed Houthi proxies in the Suez Canal and Red Sea, the Bush reportedly took the long way to its destination — sailing around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa — after departing from its home port in Norfolk, Virginia, on March 31.
Earlier this week, tracking sites showed the Ford in the Red Sea and the Lincoln anchored in the Arabian Sea south of Iran, where it’s been since the war began in February, the outlet reported.
Senior Iranian leadership was expected to arrive in Pakistan on Friday or Saturday for talks, government sources from both countries told The Post.
However, the meeting will most likely be bilateral between Islamabad and Tehran only, an Iranian source said.
Trump said Thursday afternoon that he plans to resume bombing Iran if there’s no peace deal.
“If they don’t want to make a deal, then I’ll finish it up militarily with the other 25% of the targets,” he said from the Oval Office.
