Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Uneasy Quiet in Mideast, Month After Iran Strike Against US
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
February 4, 2020

Share

ABOARD THE USS HARRY S TRUMAN (AP) — Nearly a month after Iran launched a rare direct military attack against United States forces in Iraq, an uneasy quiet has settled across the Mideast.
Watching fighter jets roar off the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, the top U.S. commander for the region believes he is surrounded by one of the reasons that Iran has dialed back its combat stance, at least for now.
“You’re here because we don’t want a war with Iran and nothing makes a potential adversary think twice about war than the presence of an aircraft carrier and the strike group that comes with it,” Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie told the nearly 5,000 service members on board the 100,000-ton ship. “So, we achieve deterrence, which is preventing Iran from starting a war.”

Lemoore-Based Fighters Among Carrier’s Forces

Among the fighter squadrons aboard the Truman is the NAS Lemoore-based “Knighthawks” (VFA-136). The squadron’s pilots fly F/A-18E Super Hornets alongside aircraft deployed on the carrier from other U.S. Navy bases, primarily in Virginia.
Patrolling through the North Arabian Sea, the Truman was about 150 miles (240 kilometers) from Iran when McKenzie and a small number of staff flew aboard on Saturday. His overnight stay on the ship underscored his belief that the additional ships, aircraft, weapons systems and thousands of troops that the U.S. has poured into the region in recent months deliver a message. It’s one he thinks Iran has received.
Since Iran launched a flurry of ballistic missiles at U.S. forces in Iraq in retaliation for an American drone strike that killed a top Iranian general, there has been a visible reduction in Tehran’s military posture, McKenzie said.

Iran Naval Harassment Has Declined

He said Iran brought its ballistic missile force and its air defenses back down from a heightened state of readiness. Also, the level of harassment and other activity by Iran’s naval forces around the congested Strait of Hormuz has been scaled back.
The drone strike that killed Qassem Soleimani, the top Quds Force general, showed that the U.S. is willing to take action, and the arrival of the Truman and the other warships had underscored that, he said.
“When an aircraft carrier is in your neighborhood you know it,” said Navy Capt. Kavon Hakimzadeh, the Truman’s commanding officer.
He said his ship left Norfolk, Virginia, in mid-November and “almost made a beeline for the Suez Canal.”

Steady Stream of U.S. Aircraft Launches

Now, as they maneuver off the coast of Oman, a steady stream of fighter jets, surveillance aircraft and helicopters launch off the 4.5 acre (1.8 hectare) flight deck, conducting a show of force that also allows them to keep up their training in case they are needed for combat.
“We’re practicing our craft,” said Hakimzadeh, or Capt. Hak, as he is known on the ship. “Our job is to fuel up, load up and launch airplanes. The only real change is whether or not the airplanes come back with bombs or not.”
So far they haven’t dropped any bombs. Some of the ships are taking part in the maritime coalition that is safeguarding the Strait of Hormuz, in the wake of Iranian attacks against commercial vessels last year. Others protect the carrier.
From the bridge, where McKenzie spoke to the crew over the ship’s loudspeakers, he could look out at the horizon and see the USS Normandy. The weapons-loaded warship stands as a sentry between the carrier and Iran. Out of view were four American Navy destroyers. Another warship loaded with Marines is further up the Red Sea.
Despite widespread demands for U.S. Navy ships in other parts of the world, McKenzie requested and received a much larger than usual naval presence in his area. Both the Truman and the USS Bataan steamed rapidly across the Mediterranean to get to the Gulf region, and in a somewhat rare move, one of the destroyers assigned to Europe, the USS Carney, was shifted south to join the Truman.

Deterrence Hard to Measure

McKenzie and other commanders on the ship acknowledge that deterrence is a hard thing to measure.
But speaking to F/A-18 fighter pilots in their ready room, McKenzie mapped out the timeline. Last April and May, he said, Iranian leadership decided to begin more active offensive military operations in the region.
In the succeeding months, there were attacks on ships in the Gulf, a pipeline in Saudi Arabia and, on Sept. 14, strikes on Saudi oil facilities. The violence spurred U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper to beef up the military presence in the Gulf.
Esper, however, has made it clear that America’s top defense priorities are threats from China and Russia, and he is looking to send more forces to the Pacific region. For McKenzie, that means frequent discussions with defense leaders about his assessment of the Iranian threat in the Middle East and why he needs the forces he has.
“You know what I associate with that period of time,” said McKenzie, referring to early last spring. “There was no carrier” in the region.
Now, he said, there is a “rough kind of stability” in the region. But he is reluctant to say how long that will last, or how long he will be able to hold onto the military might he’s accumulated.
And over the loudspeaker, he made that uncertainty clear to the Truman crew.
“One thing I know everybody wants to know is how long you’re gonna be here,” he said. “So I’m gonna be honest with you. I don’t know.”

Aviation Mechanic 3rd Class Sarah Adame, assigned to the “Knighthawks” of Lemoore-based Strike Fighter Squadron VFA-136, cleans the wing of an F/A-18E Super Hornet in the hangar bay of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the Arabian Sea on Jan. 16, 2020. (U.S. Navy Photo)
GV Wire contributed to this report.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

ICE Is Reversing the Termination of Legal Status for International Students Around the US

DON'T MISS

Trump Is a Revolutionary. Will He Succeed or Fail?

DON'T MISS

Trump Now Doubts Putin Wants to End Ukraine War, a Day After Saying a Deal Was Close

DON'T MISS

We Need Proof of Life for the Makeup Artist Trump Sent to El Salvador

DON'T MISS

Fresno Elderly Woman Evicted, Forced to Leave Dogs Behind. One Still Needs a Home.

DON'T MISS

Virginia Giuffre, Voice in Epstein Sex Trafficking Scandal, Dies at 41

DON'T MISS

California Proposes Allowing Testing of Self-Driving Heavy-Duty Trucks

DON'T MISS

Higher Taxes on Millionaires? Trump Says He’s Open, but Many in His Party Are Not

DON'T MISS

Ex-US Rep. George Santos Sentenced to Over 7 Years in Prison for Fraud and Identity Theft

DON'T MISS

Selma Mayor Charged With Electioneering Violation on Election Day

UP NEXT

Virginia Giuffre, Voice in Epstein Sex Trafficking Scandal, Dies at 41

UP NEXT

Fresno Air Improves. Where Does It Rank in the US?

UP NEXT

Conflicting US-China Talks Statements Add to Global Trade Confusion

UP NEXT

Exclusive: US Congress Republicans Seek $27 Billion for Golden Dome in Trump Tax Bill

UP NEXT

China Exempts Some Goods From US Tariffs

UP NEXT

Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say

UP NEXT

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

UP NEXT

Two From Search Group That Uncovered Mexico’s ‘Ranch of Horror’ Killed

UP NEXT

Chicago Bears Great Steve McMichael Dies at 67 After Battle With ALS

UP NEXT

Long Wait Is Over for Cam Ward, Travis Hunter and Other Draft Prospects Joining the NFL

We Need Proof of Life for the Makeup Artist Trump Sent to El Salvador

1 hour ago

Fresno Elderly Woman Evicted, Forced to Leave Dogs Behind. One Still Needs a Home.

2 hours ago

Virginia Giuffre, Voice in Epstein Sex Trafficking Scandal, Dies at 41

13 hours ago

California Proposes Allowing Testing of Self-Driving Heavy-Duty Trucks

16 hours ago

Higher Taxes on Millionaires? Trump Says He’s Open, but Many in His Party Are Not

17 hours ago

Ex-US Rep. George Santos Sentenced to Over 7 Years in Prison for Fraud and Identity Theft

17 hours ago

Selma Mayor Charged With Electioneering Violation on Election Day

17 hours ago

Fresno Air Improves. Where Does It Rank in the US?

17 hours ago

As Harris Ponders Run for CA Governor, Is She Prepared for the Daunting Job?

18 hours ago

Stocks Rise With Tech-Related Shares, Notch Weekly Gains; Dollar Up

18 hours ago

ICE Is Reversing the Termination of Legal Status for International Students Around the US

SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. government is reversing the termination of legal status for international students around the country after many fi...

20 minutes ago

20 minutes ago

ICE Is Reversing the Termination of Legal Status for International Students Around the US

50 minutes ago

Trump Is a Revolutionary. Will He Succeed or Fail?

58 minutes ago

Trump Now Doubts Putin Wants to End Ukraine War, a Day After Saying a Deal Was Close

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 23, 2025. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
1 hour ago

We Need Proof of Life for the Makeup Artist Trump Sent to El Salvador

After a Fresno woman was evicted and her home padlocked, her four dogs were left behind — and now the last one, a loyal German shepherd named Ginger, is waiting for a new home. (Mell's Mutts)
2 hours ago

Fresno Elderly Woman Evicted, Forced to Leave Dogs Behind. One Still Needs a Home.

Virginia Roberts Giuffre speaks to reporters in New York on Aug. 27, 2019. Giuffre, a former victim of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring who said she was “passed around like a platter of fruit” as a teenager to rich and powerful predators, including Prince Andrew of Britain, died on Friday at her farm in Western Australia. She was 41. (Jefferson Siegel/The New York Times)
13 hours ago

Virginia Giuffre, Voice in Epstein Sex Trafficking Scandal, Dies at 41

16 hours ago

California Proposes Allowing Testing of Self-Driving Heavy-Duty Trucks

17 hours ago

Higher Taxes on Millionaires? Trump Says He’s Open, but Many in His Party Are Not

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend