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CRETE, KOMPAS.com – The largest aircraft carrier in the world, USS Gerald R Ford, left the naval base in Crete, Greece, on Thursday (26/2/2026).
The departure of the United States warship occurred amid an increase in the US military presence in the Mediterranean region to pressure Iran.
This move coincides with the resumption of indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran regarding Iran’s nuclear program.
Also read: Rarely happens, 2 US aircraft carriers will attack Iran together
Leave the base in Crete
According to the photographer AFPUSS Gerald R Ford departed from the US Naval Support Activity Souda Bay base on the island of Crete on Thursday. The aircraft carrier had been docked at the base since Monday.
The United States Embassy in Athens declined to comment on the carrier’s whereabouts and directed questions to the Pentagon in Washington.
The departure of this aircraft carrier occurred at the same time as the opening of a new round of indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran in Geneva, mediated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Oman.
The talks focused on Iran’s nuclear program which has been a source of tension with Western countries.
Pressure on Iran’s Nuclear Program
US President Donald Trump previously ordered attacks on Iran last year.
He has also repeatedly threatened Tehran with new military action if Iran does not agree to a new agreement regarding its controversial nuclear program.
Western countries fear the program aims to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Iran has long denied.
Also read: Iran buys Chinese supersonic missiles, claims they can sink US aircraft carriers
Two aircraft carriers in the Middle East
Apart from the USS Gerald R Ford, the United States is currently stationing more than a dozen warships in the Middle East region.
The fleet includes another aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, nine destroyers, as well as three other battleships.
The presence of two US aircraft carriers at once in the Middle East region is relatively rare.
This class of aircraft carrier is capable of carrying dozens of fighter aircraft and crewed by thousands of sailors, making it a symbol of projection of United States military power in the Middle East.
Also read: US War Machine Surrounds Iran: 2 Aircraft Carriers, Dozens of Fighter Jets, Thousands of Personnel
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