The US aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt is heading towards the Middle East to replace the aircraft carrier George Washington, in light of the ongoing escalation with Iran and rising tensions in the theater of operations.
The Hill newspaper reported that the lead ship of the Ninth Carrier Strike Group left the San Diego base last Sunday, based on ship movement monitoring data, to assume alternative tasks for the aircraft carrier “George Washington,” which is primarily stationed in Japan, and which had moved last month to the scope of responsibility of the US Central Command “Centcom.”
For his part, a spokesman for the US Pacific Fleet explained that “Theodore Roosevelt” carries out regular tasks within the scope of responsibility of the Third Fleet.
This military deployment comes in conjunction with intense US efforts to ensure the smooth flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, in addition to the continued US naval vessels enforcing the naval blockade in the Arabian Sea.
In the same context, US Central Command announced that it had redirected more than 122 commercial ships since last July to ensure compliance with these security measures, while the volume of oil transiting through this vital waterway exceeded the one billion barrel mark during the past months.
