US Prepares Second Aircraft Carrier For West Asia Deployment Amid Iran Tensions: Report

Last Updated:February 12, 2026, 03:05 IST

Officials say warship deployment order could come soon, though Trump has not approved it yet.

The Pentagon has directed a second aircraft carrier strike group to prepare for possible deployment to West Asia as the United States weighs military options against Iran, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper, citing three US officials, said the move comes as President Donald Trump considers tougher action if ongoing diplomatic efforts with Tehran fail. One of the officials told the Journal that a deployment order could be issued within hours, though no final decision has been taken.

Trump said on Tuesday that he was thinking about sending another aircraft carrier to the region as part of preparations for potential military action. “If negotiations with Iran do not succeed, we will have to do something very tough," he said in a media interview.

The Journal report said that while the Pentagon is making preparations, Trump has not yet formally authorised the deployment and plans could still change. If the order is approved, the new carrier would join the USS Abraham Lincoln, which is already operating in West Asian waters.

One official told the paper that the Pentagon is preparing a carrier to be deployment-ready within two weeks, likely from the US East Coast. The USS George H.W. Bush, currently completing training exercises off the coast of Virginia, could be tapped for the mission and may accelerate its schedule.

The military preparations come hours after Trump held a closed-door meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. According to an Associated Press report, Trump told Netanyahu that he had insisted on continuing negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programme.

“There was nothing definitive reached, other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue," Trump later wrote on his Truth Social platform. He added that a diplomatic deal remained his preference, but warned of consequences if talks collapsed.

US and Iranian officials held indirect discussions in Oman last week, raising cautious hopes of reviving negotiations. However, Trump has also made it clear that any agreement must ensure “no nuclear weapons, no missiles."

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