WASHINGTON, April 10 (UPI) -- The U.S. Navy carrier USS John C. Stennis has left the Persian Gulf area, the Navy Times reported this weekend.
The Stennis is the second of two U.S. aircraft carriers and their supporting battle groups that have been operating in the Arabian Sea off the Gulf. The second carrier, the USS Eisenhower, is due to be relieved later this month by the USS Nimitz, which left its home port of San Diego with its supporting battle group a week ago.
The Navy Times said the Stennis was sailing to support U.S. and NATO ground operations in Afghanistan. The Stennis leaves the Gulf area at a time when tensions between the United States and Iran appear to have eased slightly following Tehran's decision to release 15 British Navy sailors and Royal Marines it had seized, claiming they were in Iranian waters. However, tensions between the United States and Iran remain high over Iran's continued refusal to abandon its nuclear development program.
The Navy Times noted that the USS Stennis "left its homeport of Bremerton, Wash., on Jan. 16, for a regularly scheduled deployment and began operating with coalition forces in the 5th Fleet area of responsibility Feb. 19."
