The Pentagon has told a second aircraft carrier strike group to prepare for deployment to the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing three US officials.
“Either we will make a deal, or we will have to do something very tough like last time,” Trump told N12, who also warned that the US has “an armada that is heading there and another one might be going.”
The order to deploy “could be issued in a matter of hours,” one of the officials confirmed to the Wall Street Journal, though no official directive from Trump has yet been given.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Pentagon has been preparing a carrier to deploy “in two weeks, likely from the East Coast.”
Aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush is currently performing training exercises off the Virginia coast and “could potentially expedite those exercises,” the Wall Street Journal quoted the officials as saying.
Currently stationed in the Middle East is the USS Lincoln aircraft carrier and several other vessels.
Trump also met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to discuss their respective countries’ red lines on nuclear talks with Iran.
“There was nothing definitive reached other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a Deal can be consummated,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post following the meeting.
“Last time Iran decided that they were better off not making a Deal, and they were hit with Midnight Hammer — That did not work well for them. There is truly PEACE in the Middle East.”
Tobias Holcman contributed to this report.