USA | USS Nimitz leaves Gulf, a possible sign of de-escalation of tensions with Iran

Defence Redefined

Published on 03/02/2021 at 09:48

US Pentagon announced Tuesday that the USS Nimitz and its accompanying vessels are leaving the Gulf after nine months, a possible sign of Washington’s will to de-escalate tensions with Iran, which had previously peaked.

Nimitz’s air force has “withdrawn from the area of ​​responsibility of the central command” (USCENTCOM, the headquarters in charge of the Middle East), said John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman.

Nimitz was deployed in the region in September to monitor Iran’s moves and ensure that Tehran does not retaliate against US forces or interests.

US Secretary of Defence, Lloyd Austin, “considers that we have a robust presence  in the Middle East to respond” to any attack, Kirby explained during a press conference.

Asked if the withdrawal of the air force is a sign of de-escalation of tensions with Iran, the spokesman said that “the minister was mindful of the geostrategic picture when he approved its relocation.”

He added that the decision was also dictated by the extremely long deployment of the aircraft carrier and its accompanying vessels and the need to maintain and refuel the ships.

Mr Kirby did not say whether Nimitz would replace another aircraft carrier in the Gulf. “We are constantly assessing the level of threat. We are constantly trying to meet that threat with proper capabilities,” he said.

Nimitz and the accompanying vessels were at sea for an unusually long time – 270 days – first in the area near its base in the Pacific, then in the Middle East. It sailed in the Gulf and off Somalia during the withdrawal of US troops from that country in the Horn of Africa.

New Democratic President Joe Biden has promised that his country will rejoin the international agreement on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program signed in 2015.

His predecessor, Republican Donald Trump, unilaterally withdrew in 2018 from the Washington agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), despite calls from allies not to do so before re-enacting and extending US sanctions.

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Source: ANA MPA