Heather Mongilio – August 11, 2025 5:12 PM
The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group is in port in Bahrain, marking the first time an aircraft carrier has visited the Middle Eastern country since 2020.
While an aircraft carrier has not visited Bahrain in approximately five years, it has been just over a year since a carrier strike group was in the Persian Gulf, with the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group in the waters in July 2024, according to the USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker. Littoral Combat Ship USS Canberra (LCS-30) has been in Bahrain’s waters since May.
The Nimitz CSG’s arrival in Bahrain coincides with the most recent seizure of a merchant vessel by Iran.
On Monday, Iranian state-run news site Mehr News Agency reported that the Iranian Border Police seized an oil tanker carrying more than two million liters of what the site called “smuggled fuel” near the port of Jask, which lies on the Gulf of Oman.
The tanker, MT Phoenix, sails under the flag of Cook Islands. The Iranian Border Police arrested 17 people from the ship, according to Mehr News Agency.
In late July, Iran claimed U.S. destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) entered its territorial waters, and that it had to chase the destroyer with a helicopter. U.S. Central Command denied the Iranian claims, USNI News previously reported.
Iran also claimed to seize an oil tanker carrying fuel it declared smuggled in early July shortly after the U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. The Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group was in the North Arabian Sea at the time, where it stayed for most of its Middle East deployment.
Iranian seizures of vessels is a tactic often used by the country. In 2023, two ships from the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group sailed to the Persian Gulf as part of the U.S. response to Iranian ship seizures. The ships ultimately became part of a larger U.S. response to the Houthis after the Yemen-based group started attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea in November 2023.
The U.S. continues to leave the Red Sea without ships, despite claims by the Houthis that they will attack any ship with companies that do business with Israel. The Houthis have not yet followed up on their claim, although the group sank two ships in early July, killing mariners.
The Houthis have now published reports on ship movements between Turkey, Egypt and Israel, Mohammed Albasha, a Yemen expert posted on social media site X.
According to the Houthis, 92 ships bypassed the Houthis’ “blockade” during the first week of August, Albasha wrote.
“This media campaign appears designed to exert public pressure on Ankara and Cairo, portraying them as supporters of Tel Aviv and accusing them of undermining the so-called naval blockade,” Albasha wrote on X. “Given the Houthis’ history of targeting foreign vessels they accuse of violating their bans, it would not be surprising if this rhetoric escalated into direct threats or attacks on Egyptian and Turkish ships.”
The Houthis have not reported attacks on ships since the two Greek-owned merchant vessels in July.
Thanks for the update.