Second carrier heads to Mideast

Steve Holland, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali and Bo Erickson

REUTERS

U.S.-IRAN TENSIONS

Trump: Regime change could be ‘best thing’

FORT BRAGG, NC – President Donald Trump on Feb. 13 embraced potential regime change in Iran and declared that “tremendous power” will soon be in the Middle East, as the Pentagon sent a second aircraft carrier to the region.

Trump’s military moves and tough talk come even as Washington and Tehran seek to revive diplomacy over Tehran’s long-running nuclear dispute with the West. A source briefed on the matter told Reuters that U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will hold negotiations with Iran on Feb. 17 in Geneva, with representatives from Oman acting as mediators.

Asked if he wanted regime change in Iran, Trump responded that it “seems like that would be the best thing that could happen.” He declined to share who he wanted to take over Iran, but said “there are people.”

“For 47 years, they’ve been talking and talking and talking,” Trump said after a military event at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. “In the meantime, we’ve lost a lot of lives while they talk. Legs blown off, arms blown off, faces blown off. We’ve been going on for a long time.”

Washington wants nuclear talks with Iran to also cover the country’s ballistic missiles, support for armed groups around the region and the treatment of the Iranian people. Iran has said it is prepared to discuss curbs on its nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions, but has ruled out linking the issue to missiles.

Trump has threatened strikes on

Iran if no agreement is reached, while Tehran has vowed to retaliate, stoking fears of a wider war as the United States amasses forces in the Middle East. The United States targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities in strikes last year.

When asked what was left to be targeted at the nuclear sites, Trump said the “dust.” He added: “If we do it, that would be the least of the mission, but we probably grab whatever is left.”

Long deployments

U.S. officials described the complex process of moving military assets. The carrier USS Gerald R. Ford will join the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, several guided-missile destroyers, fighter jets and surveillance aircraft that have been moved to the Middle East in recent weeks.

The Ford, the United States’ newest and the world’s largest carrier, has been operating in the Caribbean with its escort ships and took part in operations in Venezuela earlier this year.

Asked earlier on Feb. 13 why a second aircraft carrier was headed to the Middle East, Trump said: “In case we don’t make a deal, we’ll need it … if we need it, we’ll have it ready.”

One of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the carrier would take at least a week to reach the Middle East.

The United States most recently had two aircraft carriers in the area last year, when it carried out strikes against Iranian nuclear sites in June.

With only 11 aircraft carriers in the U.S. military’s arsenal, they are a scarce resource and their schedules are usually set well in advance.

The Ford has essentially been at sea since June 2025. It was supposed to be operating in Europe before it was abruptly moved to the Caribbean in November.

While deployments for carriers usually last nine months, it is not uncommon for them to be extended during periods of increased U.S. military activity. Navy officials have long warned that long deployments at sea can damage morale on ships.

Weekslong operations possible

Meanwhile, the U.S. military is preparing for the possibility of sustained, weekslong operations against Iran if Trump orders an attack, two U.S. officials told Reuters, in what could become a far more serious conflict than previously seen between the countries.

The disclosure by the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the planning, raises the stakes for the diplomacy underway between the United States and Iran.

Asked for comment on the preparations for a potentially sustained U.S. military operation, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said: “President Trump has all options on the table with regard to Iran.”

“He listens to a variety of perspectives on any given issue, but makes the final decision based on what is best for our country and national security,” Kelly said.

The Pentagon declined to comment.

June’s “Midnight Hammer” operation was essentially a one-off U.S. attack, with stealth bombers flying from the United States to strike Iranian nuclear facilities. Iran staged a very limited retaliatory strike on a U.S. base in Qatar.

The planning underway this time is more complex, the officials said.

In a sustained campaign, the U.S. military could hit Iranian state and security facilities, not just nuclear infrastructure, one of the officials said.

Experts say the risks to U.S. forces would be far greater in such an operation against Iran, which boasts a formidable arsenal of missiles. Retaliatory Iranian strikes also increase the risk of a regional conflict.

The same official said the United States fully expected Iran to retaliate, leading to back-and-forth strikes and reprisals over a period of time.