The Pentagon has decided to send home the only US Navy aircraft carrier in the Middle East, reducing firepower in the region amid heightened tension with Iran, officials said on Thursday.
The decision, confirmed by defence officials, came out a day after Air Force B-52 bombers flew non-stop from the US to the Arabian Gulf.
It was a show of force that military officials said was intended to deter Iran from attacking US forces or interests.
Sending the USS Nimitz home to the US west coast would seem at odds with the idea that a show of force is needed to deter Iran.
It could reflect a split within the defence establishment on whether Iran is likely to strike in the last days of the Trump administration.
This week, an American military officer said the US had detected signs that Iran had prepared for possible attacks on US or allied targets in Iraq or elsewhere in the region.
This was the reason for sending two B-52 bombers from the US to briefly fly over the Gulf on Wednesday, the officer said.
US President Donald Trump spoke of “chatter” that Iran might strike.
Days after a December 20 rocket attack on the US embassy compound in Baghdad by Iranian-supported militia groups, Mr Trump tweeted that Iran was on notice.
“Some friendly health advice to Iran: If one American is killed, I will hold Iran responsible. Think it over,” he wrote on December 23.
"We hear chatter of additional attacks against Americans in Iraq.”
The US is concerned of attacks to coincide with the January 3 anniversary of the American air strike that killed top Iranian commander Qassem Suleimani.
Iran initially retaliated with a ballistic missile strike on a military base in neighbouring Iraq that caused dozens of brain concussion injuries but no deaths among US troops.
But US officials are concerned that Iran might be planning further retaliation.
Calculations on both sides are further complicated by the political transition in Washington to a Biden administration that may seek new paths to dealing with Iran.
President-elect Joe Biden has said that he hopes to return the US to a 2015 agreement between Tehran and world powers in which Iran agreed to limit its nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.
The US has maintained a near-continuous aircraft carrier presence in the Arabian Gulf since the USS Abraham Lincoln was sent in May 2019 amid concerns that Iran was considering attacks on US interests in the region.
The US also sent more land-based attack planes and re-established a troop presence in Saudi Arabia.
The Nimitz was sent from the US in April and was due to return before the end of the year.
Its planned return was postponed in early December, partly out of concerns about potential Iranian threats.
More recently it was ordered to provide support off the coast of Somalia for the movement of US forces out of the country.
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Bawaal%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nitesh%20Tiwari%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Varun%20Dhawan%2C%20Janhvi%20Kapoor%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
