U.S. military: 2 civilian Iranian mariners rescued last week
U.S. NAVY/MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 3RD CLASS NICHOLAS V. HUYNH/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS / 2020
An F/A-18F Super Hornet launches from the flight deck of the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in the Philippine Sea.
WASHINGTON >> Sailors assigned to a U.S. aircraft carrier rescued two civilian Iranian mariners in international waters on Aug. 23, the U.S. military said in a statement on Thursday.
“The Theodore Roosevelt Strike Group rescued two mariners in distress in the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) area of operations (AOR),” the U.S. Central Command said.
Two carrier strike groups — the USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS Abraham Lincoln – were currently in the Middle East. The Theodore Roosevelt Strike Group was conducting routine operations in Central Command’s area of operation.
“Aiding distressed mariners is a mission that our strike group will always stand ready to support. It is the right thing to do, and further demonstrates that the U.S. Navy is a force ready when called upon,” the statement added.
Tensions have otherwise been high in the Middle East with fears of the widening of Israel’s war in Gaza.
The U.S. maintains two aircraft-carrier strike groups in the Middle East, as well as an extra squadron of F-22 fighter jets, to help protect its ally Israel.
