BBC Verify has confirmed that a second United States aircraft carrier\nhas been observed moving towards the Middle East, as Washington\ncontinues to pressure Iran over its military programme and its deadly\ncrackdown on recent protesters.<\/p>\n
USS Gerald R Ford, the world\u2019s largest warship, briefly broadcast its\nlocation for 48 minutes in the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday (18\nFebruary). When the data appeared, the vessel was seen off the coast of\nMorocco heading towards the Mediterranean Sea.<\/p>\n
An aircraft operating from the carrier was tracked returning to the\nAtlantic Ocean on Thursday (19 February).<\/p>\n
US and Iranian officials met for a second round of negotiations in\nSwitzerland on Tuesday (17 February). President Donald Trump said on\nThursday that the world would know \u201cperhaps within 10 days\u201d whether the\nUS would reach a deal with Iran or take military action.<\/p>\n
On Monday (16 February), BBC Verify identified another aircraft\ncarrier, USS Abraham Lincoln, through satellite imagery taken on\nSaturday (14 February) off the coast of Oman, approximately 700\nkilometres from Iran.<\/p>\n
The presence of two of the US Navy\u2019s 11 aircraft carriers adds to\nevidence of a major military build-up in the Middle East in recent\nweeks.<\/p>\n
During this period, BBC Verify has recorded an increase in the number\nof destroyers, combat vessels, and fighter jets in the region.<\/p>\n
Both USS Gerald R Ford and USS Abraham Lincoln lead carrier strike\ngroups that include several guided-missile destroyers. Each aircraft\ncarrier is operated by more than 5,600 personnel and carries dozens of\naircraft.<\/p>\n
Why are US military assets moving to the Middle\nEast?<\/strong><\/p>\n USS Gerald R Ford activated its Automatic Identification System (AIS)\non Wednesday (18 February) at 12:30 GMT. This was the first time the\nsystem had been activated in 2026.<\/p>\n Through this signal, the carrier was able to broadcast its position\nto the general public. For 48 minutes, the vessel was visible on the\nship-tracking site MarineTraffic, appearing to sail towards the\nMediterranean Sea.<\/p>\n A transport aircraft operating from the carrier that landed in Spain\non Wednesday (17 February) was tracked moving towards the area where the\nship had previously been seen, on Thursday (18 February) at\napproximately 13:00 GMT.<\/p>\n The appearance of the Gerald R Ford came after BBC Verify identified\nUSS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, approximately 240 kilometres\nfrom the Omani coast, through European Sentinel 2 satellite imagery on\nSaturday (14 February).<\/p>\n USS Abraham Lincoln had not been sighted since it was reported\nentering the area in January. The vessel had been sailing in open waters\nwith limited satellite coverage. Military assets on land are far more\nvisible and more frequently captured by satellite imagery.<\/p>\n BBC Verify has now tracked 12 US vessels in the Middle East.<\/p>\n These 12 ships include USS Abraham Lincoln, a Nimitz-class\nnuclear-powered aircraft carrier, and three Arleigh Burke-class\ndestroyers forming one carrier strike group.<\/p>\n In addition, there are two other destroyers capable of conducting\nlong-range missile strikes, as well as three vessels specialising in\nnear-shore combat operations currently stationed at the US Naval base in\nBahrain.<\/p>\n Two further destroyers have been spotted in the eastern Mediterranean\nnear the US base at Souda Bay, and one more in the Red Sea.<\/p>\n BBC Verify has also monitored significant movements of US aircraft\ntowards air bases in Europe and the Middle East, including:<\/p>\n How has Iran responded?<\/strong><\/p>\n In response to the latest US military movements, Iran has made a show\nof force.<\/p>\n On Monday (16 February), the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)\nconducted maritime exercises in the Strait of Hormuz, located in the\nGulf between Oman and Iran.<\/p>\n During the exercises, IRGC Commander Lieutenant General Mohammad\nPakpour was seen inspecting naval vessels at a port. Several missiles\nwere launched from one of the ships during the occasion, according to\nthe IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency.<\/p>\n The Strait of Hormuz is considered one of the world\u2019s most important\nshipping lanes and a critical oil transit chokepoint. Approximately\none-fifth of global oil and gas supplies pass through the strait,\nincluding from Kharg Island, Iran\u2019s main oil export terminal.<\/p>\n In the report featuring Iran\u2019s latest military manoeuvres, Pakpour\nwas also seen aboard a helicopter flying over the island.<\/p>\n Video footage broadcast on Iranian state television on Thursday (19\nFebruary) also showed joint exercises in the Sea of Oman with Russia,\nincluding simulated ship rescue operations.<\/p>\n The IRGC-affiliated Fars news agency reported that \u201coperational units\nfrom Iran\u2019s regular navy and the IRGC navy\u201d took part in the\nexercises.<\/p>\n How does this differ from military operations in Venezuela\nand Iran last year?<\/strong><\/p>\n Military intelligence expert Justin Crump told BBC Verify that\ncurrent US military preparations in the Middle East demonstrate \u201cgreater\ndepth and endurance\u201d compared with manoeuvres ahead of the capture of\nformer Venezuelan president Nicol\u00e1s Maduro in January, or the air strike\noperations against Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025.<\/p>\n All those operations involved one carrier strike group and several\nindependently operating destroyers. However, the deployment of US assets\nto Venezuela and Iran was more limited in scale.<\/p>",
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