By Ben Wolfgang The Washington Times Wednesday, April 2, 2025

The Pentagon late Tuesday said it is sending another carrier strike group and additional air assets to the Middle East, moves that come amid the U.S. military campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen and strong warnings from the Trump administration to the Houthis’ chief patron, Iran.

Tuesday night’s Defense Department statement offered little detail on the specific air assets being sent to Central Command’s area of responsibility, or AOR, which encompasses the Mideast. The Associated Press, citing satellite images that it viewed, said that at least six nuclear-capable B-2 Spirit bombers had been deployed to the U.S. military base on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

In the statement, Defense Department spokesman Sean Parnell said that the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, which is already in the region, will remain there. The Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group, now in the Indo-Pacific, will soon head to the Mideast, Mr. Parnell said. Its mission will be to “to continue promoting regional stability, deter aggression, and protect the free flow of commerce in the region,” a reference to the U.S.-led effort to stop the Houthis’ targeting of commercial ships in and around the Red Sea.

Mr. Parnell’s statement left no doubt about the message the U.S. aims to send with the deployments.

“The United States and its partners remain committed to regional security in the CENTCOM AOR and are prepared to respond to any state or non-state actor seeking to broaden or escalate conflict in the region,” he said, adding that “should Iran or its proxies threaten American personnel and interests in the region, the United States will take decisive action to defend our people.”

Suspected U.S. airstrikes earlier this week hit Houthi positions around Sanaa, Yemen’s capital. U.S. forces have conducted several waves of strikes against the Houthis over the past several weeks. 

Since November 2023, the Houthis have targeted more than 100 ships, including U.S. military vessels, with missiles and drones. The Trump administration has warned Iran that it could face direct military action if it does not stop its support for the Houthis, who are part of Iran’s broader “axis of resistance” across the region.

The campaign against the Houthis is widely viewed as part of the administration’s broader effort to put heavy pressure on Tehran ahead of President Trump’s May deadline for Iran to strike a deal to limit its nuclear program or face the possibility of military action.