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Aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and Cruiser sent off Yemen to Block Iranian Arms Shipment

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Naval Forces News - USA
 
 
 
Aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and Cruiser sent off Yemen to Block Iranian Arms Shipment
 
The U.S. Navy has sent the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and its escort USS Normandy, a Ticonderoga class cruiser, from the Gulf into the Arabian Sea off Yemen on April 19. The ships will join seven other U.S. vessels (including the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, which includes a complement of more than 2,000 U.S. Marines) where Iranian-backed Huthi rebels are battling forces loyal to the Western-backed president.
     
The U.S. Navy has sent the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and its escort USS Normandy, a Ticonderoga class cruiser, from the Gulf into the Arabian Sea off Yemen on April 19. The ships will join seven other U.S. vessels (including the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, which includes a complement of more than 2,000 U.S. Marines) where Iranian-backed Huthi rebels are battling forces loyal to the Western-backed president.
The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) and the guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG) 60 sail in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, strike operations in Iraq and Syria as directed, maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Anna Van Nuys/Released)
     
U.S. officials said on Tuesday the decision to strengthen their naval presence in the Gulf of Aden is designed to preserve options as Yemen’s security situation continues to worsen. They add that the presence of an Iranian convoy in waters near Yemen was "certainly one of the factors" that prompted the action.

Pentagon officials say an Iranian convoy of nine cargo ships is also in international waters in the Gulf of Aden, but that to their knowledge, the U.S. and Iranian ships have not yet seen each other or made any contact.

“What we see is a deteriorating security situation that could potentially result in a maritime threat,” said Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren. “It's hard to predict the future, so what we need to have are options."