Report suggests U.S. ready to deploy 2nd aircraft carrier to Middle East

The Pentagon is ready to deploy the second aircraft carrier to the Middle East in two weeks amid heightened U.S.-Iran tensions, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

The carrier is likely from the U.S. East Coast, according to the report, which quoted U.S. officials as saying that the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush is completing a series of training exercises off the coast of Virginia and that it could potentially expedite those exercises.

However, the report said U.S. President Donald Trump hasn't yet issued an official order to deploy, and that the plan could change.

If the order is issued, the second carrier would join the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which is already in the region, marking the first time two carriers have been in the region since March 2025, when the USS Harry S. Truman and the USS Carl Vinson were both in the Middle East to battle Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Tehran and Washington held indirect talks on Friday in the Omani capital, Muscat, amid simmering tensions between the two sides following Washington's military buildup near Iran. The negotiations were their first since the United States bombed key Iranian nuclear sites in June last year.

Trump said on Tuesday that he was considering sending a second aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East for possible military action against Iran if negotiations failed.

(With input from Xinhua)