President Trump overruled his Pentagon chief on Sunday and ordered the US warship Nimitz be kept in the Persian Gulf after the aircraft carrier was told to return home to Washington State, according to a new report.
Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller reversed course on Sunday night after publicly announcing the redeployment of the Nimitz on Friday, citing “recent threats issued by Iranian leaders against President Trump and other US government officials.”
“No one should doubt the resolve of the United States of America,” he said in a statement.
The aircraft carrier was deployed to the Persian Gulf in November ahead of the one year anniversary of the killing of Iranian leader Qasem Soleimani.
The show of strength was designed to protect US forces in the Middle East and show that Washington was willing to respond to any attack seeking to avenge Soleimani’s death.
Trump abruptly ordered Miller to turn the carrier around and keep it in the Middle East after the Pentagon chief announced Friday he was returning it to the United States in a “de-escalatory” signal to Tehran.
The head of Iran’s judiciary threatened revenge against Trump and military leaders for Soleimani’s death on Friday.
“Do not presume that someone, as the president of America, who appeared as a murderer or ordered a murder, may be immune from justice being carried out. Never,” Ebrahim Raisi, said at a gathering to commemorate the anniversary.