The United States has pulled a huge nuclear powered aircraft carrier out of the Persian Gulf as Russian warships entered the area.
Military officials said on Thursday that they’ve pulled the USS Theodore Roosevelt so that it can undergo maintenance.
The US Navy now has now no aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf for the first time since 2007, according to NBC News.
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Press TV reports: The warship was withdrawn from the Persian Gulf on Thursday, a day after Russia fired 26 long-range cruise missiles from its Caspian Flotilla against terrorists in Syria, Pentagon officials said.
US military officials claimed that the aircraft carrier, which houses about 5,000 sailors and 65 fighter jets, was withdrawn because it needed to undergo maintenance.
Tensions between the United States and Russia escalated after Moscow began its military campaign on September 30 against Daesh (ISIL) terrorists wreaking havoc in Syria.
Russia has carried out more than 110 airstrikes against terrorists in Syria so far, killing hundreds of militants.
The Pentagon announced on Wednesday that the United States had adopted measures to ensure a safe distance from Russian fighter jets flying over Syria.
Republican Senator John McCain, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on Thursday that Washington should “just leave” Syria “if all of your [US] actions are dictated by the risk of confrontation with Russia.”
Peter Daly, a retired Navy vice admiral, noted that the absence of a US aircraft carrier is being noticed by Russians.
“The most important thing you need a carrier for is for what you don’t know is going to happen next,” Daly told NBC News.
Niamh Harris
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