Donald Trump overrules Defense Secy Chris Miller to order USS Nimitz stay back in Middle East amid Iran tensions
President Donald Trump is just days away from the conclusion of his only term at the White House but even then his foreign policy adventures have not stopped. The outgoing commander-in-chief is believed to have asked his defense officials to keep the USS Nimitz warship in the Middle East after the Pentagon said it would pull it out of the volatile region.
Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller, who replaced Mark Esper in November, declared the USS Nimitz’s redeployment in a ‘de-escalatory’ signal to Iran leading to the first anniversary of the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani, the New York Times cited officials as saying on Saturday, January 2. The next day, January 3, marked a year since the top Irani military leader was killed in a US drone attack outside the airport in Baghdad in neighboring Iraq, sparking outrage across Iran.
But soon after, Trump is said to have reversed Miller’s order, a senior official informed CNN. On January 3, Miller said the carrier would continue to remain in the Middle East.
In a statement, Miller said: “Due to the recent threats issued by Iranian leaders against President Trump and other U.S. government officials, I have ordered the USS Nimitz to halt its routine redeployment.
“The USS Nimitz will now remain on station in the U.S. Central Command area of operations. No one should doubt the resolve of the United States of America.”
Another US official told Reuters on the condition of anonymity that the USS Nimitz was expected to stay out of the Arabian Sea. On Monday, January 4, the US Navy shared pictures of the ship located off the coast of Somalia in Eastern Africa. Gen. Mark Meadows, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of US Central Command had objected to the move, officials told The Wall Street Journal.
#USSNimitz provides close-air support to Operation Octave Quartz, a mission aimed at relocating @DeptofDefense forces in Somalia to other East Africa operating locations while maintaining pressure on violent extremists and supporting partner forces. #ForceToBeReckonedWith pic.twitter.com/p0yvOqRyzD
— U.S. Navy (@USNavy) January 4, 2021
Miller's move to de-escalate surprised commanders
The CNN cited sources in the defense establishment to say that Miller’s stance of de-escalating tension with Iran had not been adopted as a formal policy. “It took top commanders by surprise, several defense sources said. US Central Command wanted the carrier to stay in the region to deter Iran at a time of rising tension and less than three weeks before President-elect Joe Biden takes office,” the report added.
Analysts are suspecting that the outgoing Trump administration is pursuing a plan to leave things in a boiling pot when it comes to Iran so that the succeeding administration of President-elect Joe Biden is inconvenienced. Biden has expressed interest in taking the US back into the multilateral nuclear deal with Iran that was signed in 2015 but from which Trump withdrew in May 2018.
American officials were concerned that Iran or its proxies might execute some sort of attack on the first death anniversary of Soleimani. That the fear was not entirely baseless could be sensed on January 4 when Iran announced that it has started enriching uranium to 20 percent levels witnessed in the pre-deal era. The deal had frozen its nuclear program in lieu of sanctions relief, CNN added. It also cited a maritime security company affirming Iranian forces detaining a chemical tanker bearing the flag of South Korea, a US ally.
The diplomatic circle, however, believes that Iran will not do something radical to ruin its chances of mending relations with the US once the Trump term ends in two weeks time.
