The U.S. Navy’s newest carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford, is being redirected from the Caribbean to the Middle East to join the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, as the Trump administration steps up pressure on Iran amid heightened tensions. The redeployment expands U.S. carrier airpower in the region, including electronic-attack capability from the EA‑18G Growler squadrons that support SEAD and wider ISR/EW missions for carrier operations. Separately, President Donald Trump has publicly suggested that “regime change” in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen,” reinforcing the harder U.S. posture.