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The United States suddenly withdrew the USS Nimitz – its only aircraft carrier in the Middle East – from the region ahead of the one-year anniversary of General Qassem Soleimani’s murder on Sunday, despite weeks of growing tensions with Iran.
The move would have been a “de-escalation signal” aimed at averting a crisis within three weeks of President Trump’s tenure.
The change came as Iranian leaders threatened revenge on President Trump and military leaders for Soleimani’s death. “Don’t assume that someone, as US President, who has appeared as a murderer or ordered a murder, can be immune from justice. Never, ”Iranian justice chief Ebrahim Raisi said at a rally to commemorate the anniversary.
Nimitz’s departure also comes days after the United States flew strategic bombers over Iran as a show of force, and a week after Trump warned the Iranian government he would be bound. responsible for attacks targeting Americans in Iraq.
Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller ordered the USS Nimitz, which was operating just off the coast of Somalia in the midst of a 10-month deployment that began in September, to return to its port of ‘home in Washington State. The Pentagon’s decision was made over objections from top military advisers, according to the New York Times.
US intelligence officials have seen growing indications that an Iranian attack on US forces is “imminent,” NBC News reported. Iran denies planning an attack and has even accused its nemesis Israel of planning to kill US military personnel in a configuration designed to get Trump to respond against Tehran.
The United States still has several other naval ships in the area.
Separately, Iran has said it is increasing its uranium enrichment to levels not permitted by the 2015 nuclear deal, which Trump withdrew the United States from in 2017, but President-elect Biden intends to join him.
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