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US Navy aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson has entered the Indian Ocean via the Malacca Strait, marking a step up in the US military's presence in the region amid tensions with Iran, Newsweek reported on Monday citing satellite imagery.
Two high-ranking Iranian army commanders have visited an important air base in southeastern Iran, state media reported on Monday.
Deputy Commander of the Iranian Army Brigadier General Mohammad Hossein Dadras and Brigadier General Hamid Vahedi, the commander of the Iranian Air Force, conducted a tour of Shahid Del Hamed Air Base in Chabahar, located in the Sistan and Baluchestan province, on Sunday.
Satellite images show that US Navy aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson has entered the Indian Ocean via the Malacca Strait, marking a step up in the US military's presence in the region amid tensions with Iran, Newsweek reported on Monday.
The report said that the move signals the potential for a more aggressive US stance in the coming days and weeks, amid rising tensions between Iran and Yemen's Houthis which continues to target US vessels amid its blockade of the Red Sea.
The imagery showed that the USS Carl Vinson, originally deployed in the western Pacific, has now moved into the Indian Ocean, on its way to join the USS Harry S. Truman in the Middle East, which has specifically come under fire from the Houthis.
The two aircraft carriers were deployed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Associated Press (AP) reported last month citing a US official.
AP's report said that Hegseth signed orders on March 20 to keep the USS Harry S. Truman in the Middle East for at least an additional month and ordered the USS Carl Vinson, which had been operating in the Pacific, to make its way toward the Middle East, extending its scheduled deployment by three months.
The rare deployment intended to bolster US strikes against the Houthis, whose primary benefactor is Iran. This buildup follows persistent Houthi attacks on commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea, which the group frames as a response to the Israeli war in Gaza.
Last month, the US military deployed long range bombers at a strategic Indian Ocean airbase, a spokesperson told Iran International, as Washington ramped up rhetoric against Iran and continued strikes against Houthi fighters in Yemen.
"B-2 Spirit bombers have arrived at Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia," a US Strategic Command spokesperson said, referring to the strategic British territory.
Trump recently said that all military actions carried out by the Houthis will be attributed to Iran, though Tehran denies it controls the group.
The US has launched multiple strikes on Houthi infrastructure, which has stepped up in recent weeks as Trump vows to end the blockade which, while intended to target Israeli-linked ships, has disrupted global shipping on the key maritime route.
The Kremlin said on Monday that Russia is ready to do everything possible to resolve the issues surrounding the Iranian nuclear program through political and diplomatic means.
"This process will continue, including in the near future. And, of course, Russia is ready to make every effort, to do everything possible to contribute to this problem's resolution by political and diplomatic means," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Moscow also said it is in constant consultation with its Iranian partners, including discussions regarding the nuclear deal.
"We are in constant consultations with our Iranian partners, including on the topic of the nuclear deal."
The Kremlin added that these consultations will continue, including in the near future.
In a new twist to Iran’s nuclear saga, the official government newspaper - Iran - said on Monday that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s alleged fatwa against atomic weapons does not necessarily ban their production – only their deployment and use.
