by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News February 13, 2026
The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, has been deployed to the Middle East by President Donald Trump.
As Trump weighs whether to take military action against Iran, the move will put two aircraft carriers and their accompanying warships in the region.
The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and three guided-missile destroyers arrived in the Middle East more than two weeks ago.
The USS Ford was sent from the Mediterranean Sea to the Caribbean last fall as the administration established a significant military presence ahead of the operation to strike Venezuela and capture socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro.
Trump on Thursday warned Iran that failure to reach a deal with the U.S. regarding its nuclear program would be “very traumatic” after the two countries held indirect talks in Oman last week.
“It should happen quickly. They should agree very quickly,” he told reporters.
Late last month, Trump had warned Iran: “Either we reach a deal, or we’ll have to do something very tough.”
Geostrategy-Direct.com reported on Feb. 11 that, apparently, the decision makers in Teheran believe even a significant U.S. attack could end without toppling the regime.
The regime of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei does not trust U.S. assurances and is intent on keeping its ballistic missile arsenal, Dr. Raz Zimmt, head of the Iran Program at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), told Israel’s 103FM on Feb. 9.
Jonathan Hackett, a former U.S. Marine Corps veteran, told The Jerusalem Post in a Feb. 10 report: “On January 31, 2026, specialized IRGC Ground Forces units deployed around the country to provide additional security at strategic missile facilities critical to Iran’s defense-in-depth against a U.S. attack.”
Iran is unlikely to relinquish its ballistic missile arsenal because the Islamic Republic views it as the last credible pillar of deterrence and a hedge against what it sees as unreliable U.S. guarantees, Zimmt said.
If Iran were to make major concessions not only on the nuclear file but also on missiles, Zimmt said, Khamenei believes Washington could exploit Iran’s vulnerability within weeks or months.
Zimmt added that, in Khamenei’s calculus, even the risk of a military strike is less significant than the risk of dismantling missile capabilities.
“I am not convinced that Khamenei believes the Americans are truly capable of bringing down the regime,” Zimmt said.
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