Illustrative image. (U.S. Navy)
Following the surprise deployment of dozens of aerial refueling tankers between Europe and the Middle East by the United States Air Force, the largest carrier of the U.S. Navy entered the Mediterranean Sea sparking more speculation of a new attack on Iran.
USS Gerald R. Ford transited eastward through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean on October 1, reportedly as part of its scheduled deployment to the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) area of responsibility. Its position was confirmed by kive tracking sites like Marine Vessel Traffic and ShipTraffic.
The EUCOM area of responsibility encompasses all of Europe, Russia, the Caucasus, and parts of Asia and the Middle East, in addition to the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans.
The USS Gerald R. Ford usually carries 75 aircraft, including F-35C, F/A-18E/F, and E-2D Hawkeyes, enabling around 160 sorties a day, or up to 270 in wartime. In addition, the carrier’s strike group includes warships equipped with the Aegis air defense system and capable of firing dozens of land-attack cruise missiles.
Earlier this week, it was reported that the U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of over 30 aerial refueling tankers, including KC-135 Stratotankers and KC-46A Pegasus, from multiple domestic bases to Europe. This deployment marked one of the largest single-day movements of refueling aircraft in recent history.
Around a dozen of these tankers flew in the direction of Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, with reports suggesting that some landed there.
It is very possible that the tankers escorted dozens of fighter jets to Al Udeid and other air bases in the Middle East, although this remains a speculation.
The mass deployment of the tankers led to speculation of a near attack by the U.S. against Iran. The U.S. joined the Israeli attack on the Islamic Republic in June, which became later known as the 12-day war. And now tensions are once again mounting between the two sides.
On September 27, the UN reimposed pre-2015 sanctions on Iran via the 2015 nuclear deal “snapback” mechanism, triggered by France, Germany, and the United Kingdom over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear non-compliance. And on October 1, the U.S. Treasury announced sanctions targeting the country’s weapons procurement networks supporting ballistic missile and military aircraft programs.
While USS Gerald R. Ford is supposed to stay in the EUCOM area of responsibility, it won’t be surprising to see it soon sailing through the Suez Canal to the Red Sea and from there to the Gulf of Oman. This would be a strong indication of a near attack on Iran.
Israel has been very open about its intentions towards Tehran. On October 1, a senior Israeli military official told Ma’ariv that the country is preparing for possible escalation with Iran, including another strike if necessary. One the same day, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said that officials in the Islamic Republic believe that the ceasefire with Israel will collapse and that war will resume in the future.
Any future attack by Israel and the U.S. against Iran will likely be much larger in scale than the 12-day war, and aimed at overthrowing the regime there.
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i feel so sorry for the regular iranian people, they gonna get effed up because they have the worst leaders in the world, and is not because those leaders are bunch fundamentalist shiit ayatollahs, but because they’re so stupid. may be if zoroastrians were in charge iran would already have had a nuclear deterrent long time ago.
protecting thousands of years of human civilization from zionist rule, will not be easy for iran. israel has no respect for any nation or its peoples. the cults zealots are not capable of common morality.
you should feel sorry for them instead because the subhuman genocidal joo filth and their amerikunt whores are determined to destroy their country and steal their resources, instead of the usual kike ploy of blaming their victims. the jewsa and its jew u vassals are headed over the cliff like a pack of lemmings. maybe if the jewsa had been left to the red indians the whole world would be a much better place.
the despotic colonialist regime has one ability. to make messes. but do not worry israeli influencers will still get thier $7,000 bribes per post. the us does not have the capability to win this. it can never occupy the lands it seeks to control. it is short a many millions soldiers. if they had 10 million it would not be enough.
they refuelling tankers, will all be shot down, along with the obsolete f35. f22 etc! and american bases will be obliterated, along with al qaeda, the american/ zionist construct, you know, those they used to murder 3000 american civilians and the towers fell, and building seven just got scared of the laughing israelis, it just fell down!
“trump inks article-5 style defense deal with qatar after ‘apology’ over israel’s doha bombing”…
important question for the russian federation after qatar became america’s 52nd state… why doesn’t russia do this for iran???… and if they will not “why not”?!!!