A second US aircraft carrier – the USS Gerald R. Ford – is heading towards the Middle East amid escalating tensions with Iran, accompanied by destroyers and aircraft being redeployed from missions in the Caribbean, a US official told ABC News.
As negotiations between the United States and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program continue, US aircraft carriers are at the forefront of a major US military buildup in the Middle East. The Ford is expected to join the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the region, as the latter arrived there late last month.
Ford briefly moved its position off the coast of Morocco on Wednesday as it approached the Mediterranean Sea, according to MarineTraffic data. The carrier’s location was visible for approximately two hours.
Also appearing on FlightRadar24 on Wednesday were two C-2A Greyhound aircraft, which in recent months have been operating outside the carrier. The planes located themselves off the coast of Portugal, about 230 miles from the ford site.
This archive photo provided by the U.S. Navy shows the USS Gerald R. Ford on April 8, 2017, near Newport News, Virginia.
Mass Communication Specialist 2n/AP
Ford is accompanied by four destroyers as it sails east toward the Middle East.
Three of the destroyers are part of the Ford Carrier Strike Group that has accompanied the carrier since it first deployed in June, and a fourth destroyer was previously part of President Donald Trump’s administration’s military surge in the Caribbean, a U.S. official confirmed to ABC News.
Both destroyers are armed with air defense systems that can shoot down missiles and drones, as well as Tomahawk cruise missiles that can be used to strike targets up to 1,000 miles away.
F-35 stealth fighter jets are among the US assets headed toward the Middle East, including some that were deployed to Puerto Rico ahead of the US operation to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
A Vermont National Guard spokesman confirmed to ABC News that the 158th Fighter Wing received a mission change from U.S. Southern Command — which oversees operations in the Caribbean and Central and South America — but did not reveal its new deployment area.
In late January, online flight trackers noticed dozens of F-35 fighter jets taking off from Naval Station Roosevelt Roads in Puerto Rico and landing in the Azores in the mid-Atlantic, en route to the Middle East.
Israeli and US forces targeted key Iranian nuclear workers and facilities during an intense 12-day conflict in June. But the strikes failed to resolve long-standing American and Israeli grievances over Tehran’s nuclear program, its arsenal of ballistic missiles and its support for regional proxy groups.
Representatives of the United States and Iran met in Geneva, Switzerland, this week for talks on a possible agreement related to Tehran’s nuclear program and uranium enrichment. Trump called on Iran to commit to “zero enrichment,” a proposal rejected by Iranian officials.
American officials familiar with the negotiations said that Iran has expressed its willingness to suspend its nuclear enrichment for a certain period of time, ranging from one to five years.
In this photo provided by Sepahnews of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard on February 16, 2026, troops stand at attention during Guard exercises in the Persian Gulf on Monday, February 16, 2026. (Sepahnews via AP)
Associated Press
The United States is also considering lifting financial and banking sanctions and a ban on its oil sales, according to a US official.
After the talks in Geneva, Iran is expected to submit a written proposal aimed at resolving the tensions, a senior US official confirmed to ABC News on Wednesday. It is unclear when the written proposal will be submitted to the United States
A White House official said on Tuesday that Iran would present detailed proposals to address “some of the open gaps in our positions” within the next two weeks.
ABC News’ Shannon Kingston and Maryam Khan contributed to this report.
