US and Iran headed for a naval face-off over Yemen following the announcement Monday night that the USS Theodore Roosevelt, known as “The Big Stick,” was on its way to the Gulf of Aden to join the American naval force of nine warships building up to intercept any Iranian vessels carrying arms for Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The Roosevelt Strike Group 12 was dispatched from the Persian Gulf to head off an Iranian naval armada of 8-9 vessels on its way to the Gulf of Aden with fresh military supplies for the rebels.
The Roosevelt carrier is accompanied by US Navy destroyers and other vessels, including the guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy. The US warships are carrying teams able to board and search vessels bound to deliver Iranian arms in accordance with UN resolutions.
The aircraft carrier’s arrival will notch up America’s active partnership in the blockade Saudi Arabia and Egypt have thrown up around Yemeni shores. It will underscore Washington’s resolve to pre-empt any attempt by Iranian warships to break this blockade, as well as the deepening US involvement against the Iranian-backed rebel forces in Yemen.
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In the era of modern news, this information concerning the deployment of the USS Roosevelt is old. Which action will become the flash point for expanding the current world wars into the larger conflagration is unknown. It is a good bet that one of the wars in the Middle East will be the “one”. Strange how the religion of peace (Islam) is center stage at most of these wars.
David DeGerolamo
