i24NEWS – Reuters
November 28, 2020, 09:16 AM
LOGAN C. KELLUMS / US NAVY / AFPIn this image released by the US Navy, the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (L) transits the Strait of Hormuz on September 18, 2020.
Navy says deployment not linked to specific threats, bolsters US presence amid Iraq, Afghanistan withdrawal
The US recently deployed USS Nimitz aircraft carrier along with its strike group to the Persian Gulf.
The deployment took place on Wednesday and was not linked with any specific threats, the US Navy said Saturday in a statement, as cited by Reuters.
The Navy said the move came as a precaution amid the pullouts in Iraq and Afghanistan, where the Pentagon is aiming to keep a total of some 5,000 US troops split evenly between the two countries.
“This action ensures we have sufficient capability available to respond to any threat and to deter any adversary from acting against our troops during the force reduction,” a Navy spokesperson told the agency.
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The deployment comes amid soaring regional tensions between the Gulf states, Israel and the US on the one hand and Iran on the other.
It also happened just days before the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a top Iranian nuclear scientist, who was shot dead Friday in an attack near Tehran.
Iranian officials were quick to blame the attack, which saw Fakhrizadeh’s vehicle sprayed with bullets, on Israel, vowing revenge.
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