A third US aircraft carrier is heading to the region, and citizens from Iran and Israel are being evacuated.
A third US aircraft carrier is heading to the region, and citizens from Iran and Israel are being evacuated.
2025-06-21 00:18
Shafaq News/ A US Navy official reported on Saturday that a third US aircraft carrier was heading to the region. This coincided with Washington’s announcement that the decision to participate in the war rests with President Donald Trump, while the Trump administration, along with Germany and China, appeared busy evacuating their citizens from Iran and Israel.
A US Navy official said the aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford will depart its naval base in Norfolk on the US East Coast “next Tuesday morning” and will head to Europe, becoming the third aircraft carrier to soon be stationed in the Middle East.
The Gerald Ford is the first of a new generation of aircraft carriers. It displaces 100,000 tons and is nuclear-powered and entered service in 2017.
The USS Carl Vinson has also been in the Middle East for several months, participating in the US airstrike campaign against the Ansar Allah (Houthis) group in Yemen.
The carrier Nimitz, which was anchored in the South China Sea, also sailed west, taking the Middle East route.
A week ago, large military aircraft took off from the United States for American military bases in Europe, while dozens of aircraft were withdrawn from a base in Qatar to protect them from any potential strikes by Tehran.
Meanwhile, US Vice President J.D. Vance said that Trump “will be the one who makes the final decision on Iran,” adding, “I think time is running out for diplomatic solutions.”
Vance added, “President Trump has said he will seek a diplomatic solution, but he is convinced there is no longer a chance, and he will do what is necessary to end Iran’s nuclear program.”
Trump and the White House announced that they will decide within the next two weeks whether the United States will join Israel in its war on Iran.
With his statement, Trump kept the world guessing about his plans, shifting from proposing a quick diplomatic solution to suggesting that Washington join the fight alongside Israel.
In a related development, an internal US State Department cable published by Reuters revealed that hundreds of American citizens have left Iran by land over the past week since the outbreak of the air war between Tehran and Israel.
According to the cable, “many of them left without problems, but many faced delays and harassment while trying to leave.”
The cable, without providing further details, stated that one family, which was not identified, reported the detention of two American citizens who were attempting to leave Iran.
The internal cable, dated June 20, highlights the challenge Washington faces in trying to protect and assist its citizens in a country with which it has no diplomatic relations and in a war in which the United States may soon become embroiled.
The cable stated that the US Embassy in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, has requested the entry of more than 100 US citizens from Iran, but the Turkmen government has not yet granted its approval.
The Washington Post first published the cable, and the US State Department has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Earlier on Friday, the US State Department urged its citizens wishing to leave Iran to use land routes via Azerbaijan, Armenia, or Türkiye, as Iranian airspace is closed.
The US State Department confirmed that Tehran treats Iranian-American dual nationals as Iranian citizens only.
The warning stated that “US citizens are at high risk of interrogation, arrest, and detention in Iran.”
Washington is exploring possible ways to evacuate its citizens from Israel, but it has virtually no means of assisting Americans inside Iran, and diplomatic relations between the two countries have not existed since the Iranian revolution in 1979.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said the day before yesterday that the US administration is exploring different ways to evacuate American citizens.
“We are working to provide military, commercial, charter flights, and cruise ships for evacuation,” Huckabee explained in a post on Twitter, urging US citizens and green card holders to fill out an online application.
A separate internal ministry email revealed that as of Friday, more than 6,400 US citizens had completed the evacuation form from Israel.
The internal email, also dated June 20 and marked “sensitive,” stated that “approximately 300 to 500 US citizens per day will likely require departure assistance.”
The second email also stated, “The US Department of State has not received any reports of US citizens being killed or injured in Israel or Iran.”
The US State Department does not have official figures, but it is believed that thousands of American citizens reside in Iran, compared to hundreds of thousands in Israel.
Meanwhile, 64 German citizens were evacuated from Israel on two German military aircraft on Friday evening, according to the German Foreign and Defense Ministries.
According to the two ministries, the evacuation operations are focusing on families with children and other vulnerable groups, adding that the flights were quickly arranged in coordination with Israeli authorities.
Earlier last week, 345 German citizens returned from Jordan on chartered commercial flights.
For its part, China’s state-run CCTV reported on Saturday that an evacuation flight carrying 330 Chinese citizens returning from Iran arrived at Beijing Airport.
The channel added that the flight from Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, landed in Beijing on Friday evening.
Li Chunlin, deputy director-general of the Department of Consular Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told the channel that approximately 2,000 Chinese citizens have been evacuated from Iran.
Chinese Ambassador to Israel Xiao Junzheng told state-run CGTN media that about 400 Chinese citizens have also been evacuated from Israel.
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