Second US supercarrier headed to Persian Gulf after Trump signals 'something very tough' on Iran

The USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group will now join the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East, delaying its return home and underscoring Washington’s intensifying pressure on Iran, The New York Times reports.

• USS Gerald R. Ford redirected from Caribbean to Middle East
• Deployment extended to late April or early May
• Ford joins USS Abraham Lincoln to reinforce US presence near Iran

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The United States is redirecting its aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its escort ships from the Caribbean to the Middle East, significantly extending what had already been an unusually long deployment, The New York Times reported. The strike group is now expected to remain at sea until late April or early May, delaying its return to home ports.

Crew members aboard the Ford were informed Thursday of the new orders by naval leadership, according to the report. Four US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly about the decision, confirmed the development to the newspaper.

The Ford’s strike group will sail to the Persian Gulf to join the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, reinforcing an expanded US naval presence as President Donald Trump escalates pressure on Iran’s leadership. Trump had indicated on February 10 that he wanted to send a second carrier to the region, a move that aligns with Washington’s broader campaign to influence Tehran’s negotiating position.

The Lincoln group had already reached the region weeks earlier as tensions over Iran’s nuclear program and regional security simmer, with indirect talks between Washington and Tehran underway but not yet yielding a breakthrough.

The Ford’s mission began in June 2025, when it departed Norfolk, Virginia, on what was initially expected to be a deployment to Europe.

That plan was altered late last year when the carrier was redirected to the Caribbean as part of a Trump-led pressure campaign related to Venezuela, including a reported January 3 attack on Caracas that captured President Nicolás Maduro.

Sailors had anticipated returning home in early March after an earlier extension, but the latest orders push that timeline further into spring and jeopardise a scheduled dry dock period in Virginia, where major maintenance and upgrades were planned.