Largest Aircraft Carrier Docks in Mediterranean: Is a US Strike on Iran Drawing Closer?
The world’s largest aircraft carrier belonging to the United States has entered the Mediterranean Sea. Is this a signal that a US strike on Iran is drawing closer?
As reported by AFP on Saturday (21/2/2026), the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford was seen entering the Mediterranean Sea on Friday (20/2) local time. The vessel had been ordered by US President Donald Trump to deploy to the Middle East as part of a massive military build-up amid tensions with Iran.
The aircraft carrier was spotted crossing the Strait of Gibraltar — which connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean — in photographs taken from the Gibraltar side of the strait.
The carrier will join another US aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, and its accompanying warships, which had already arrived in the Middle East region.
Trump Considers Limited Strike on Iran
Trump said on Friday (20/2) local time that he was “considering” a limited strike against Iran should negotiations fail to produce an agreement.
Trump has also ordered a massive increase in US naval forces in the Middle East, aimed at pressuring Tehran into reaching a deal to rein in its nuclear programme.
The latest threat came after Iran’s foreign minister said a draft proposal for an agreement with Washington would be ready within days, following negotiations between the two sides in Geneva earlier in the week.
Trump had previously signalled on Thursday (19/2) that “bad things” would happen if Tehran did not reach a deal within 10 days, a deadline he later extended to 15 days.
When asked by a reporter on Friday (20/2) whether he was considering a limited military strike, Trump replied: “The most I can say is — I’m considering it.”
Following the talks in Geneva, Tehran said both sides had agreed to submit a draft of a potential agreement, which Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told US media would be “the next step.”
“I am confident that in the next two or three days, it will be ready, and after final confirmation from my superiors, it will be handed over to Steve Witkoff,” he said, referring to Trump’s lead negotiator for the Middle East.
Araghchi also said that US negotiators had not asked Tehran to end its nuclear enrichment programme, contradicting statements from American officials.
“We have not offered any suspension, and the US side has not requested zero enrichment,” he said in an interview released on Friday (20/2) by the US television network MS NOW.
“What we are discussing now is how to ensure that Iran’s nuclear programme, including enrichment, is peaceful and will remain peaceful forever,” he added.
Iran Threatens to Strike US Bases and Assets if Attacked
Amid these heated circumstances, the Iranian government has warned that US military bases, facilities and assets would become “legitimate targets” should the United States follow through on its threats and military aggression.
Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s Ambassador to the United Nations, conveyed the statement in a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the President of the Security Council.
As reported by AFP on Friday (20/2), the Iranian Ambassador’s letter to the UN Secretary-General cited a social media post by Trump on the preceding Wednesday, in which he said the United States might need to use British military bases, including one on an island in the Indian Ocean, “if Iran decides not to make a deal.”
“Such aggressive statements by the President of the United States… signal a real risk of military aggression, the consequences of which would be catastrophic for the region and would constitute a serious threat to international peace and security,” Iravani wrote in the letter.
He called on the Security Council, as the UN’s highest decision-making body, to “ensure that the United States immediately ceases its unlawful threats of the use of force.”
The letter stated that Iran remains committed “to a diplomatic solution” and to “on the basis of reciprocity, addressing ambiguities regarding its peaceful nuclear programme.”
However, Iravani warned that should Iran face military aggression, “all bases, facilities and assets of enemy forces in the region will become legitimate targets in the context of Iran’s defensive response.”