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President Donald Trump is weighing the possibility of dispatching an additional U.S. aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East as renewed negotiations with Iran get underway, underscoring that Washington is maintaining a credible military option alongside diplomacy.
Speaking with Axios in an interview on Tuesday, Trump said the potential move would be part of a wider pressure campaign against Tehran as talks resume following last year’s short but fierce conflict.
“Either we will make a deal or we will have to do something very tough like last time,” Trump told Axios.
Negotiators from the United States and Iran reconvened in Oman last Friday, marking their first direct discussions since the 12-day war in June. The talks are taking place even as the Trump administration continues to reinforce U.S. military assets across the region. Trump said he anticipates another round of discussions next week.
“We have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going,” Trump said, noting that he is “thinking” about ordering a second carrier strike group to the area.
A U.S. official confirmed to Axios that internal conversations have already taken place regarding the possible deployment of another carrier.
At present, the United States has the USS Abraham Lincoln and its accompanying strike group stationed in the region, outfitted with fighter aircraft, Tomahawk cruise missiles, and support vessels. During much of the Gaza war, the U.S. maintained two carrier strike groups operating in the Middle East simultaneously.
Even with the heightened military posture, Trump suggested that negotiations have a real chance of succeeding, saying Iran “wants to make a deal very badly” and is engaging more seriously because of sustained U.S. pressure.
“Last time they didn’t believe I would do it,” Trump said, referencing U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June. “They overplayed their hand.”
“This time the talks are very different,” he added.
Iranian officials have publicly stated that the discussions should be limited to the nuclear file and have insisted that Tehran will not relinquish its ability to enrich uranium. That position has raised doubts among U.S. and Israeli critics who question whether a far-reaching agreement can be achieved.
Trump said it should be obvious that any deal must confront Iran’s nuclear program, adding that he sees room for talks to also address Tehran’s ballistic missile capabilities.
“We can make a great deal with Iran,” he said.
The renewed negotiations are unfolding as Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu prepares for a visit to Washington on Wednesday. Trump told Axios that Netanyahu “also wants a deal.”
“He wants a good deal,” Trump said.
Ahead of his trip, Netanyahu said he intends to convey Israel’s perspective on what he described as the “essential principles” guiding the negotiations.
At the same time, senior Iranian figure Ali Larijani has been holding meetings with regional intermediaries in Oman and Qatar. U.S. officials believe those discussions are designed to influence the shape and direction of the next phase of talks, according to Axios.
{Matzav.com}The Biala Rebbe of the United States, who is currently in Eretz Yisroel to mark the yahrtzeit of his grandfather, the Chelkas Yehoshua of Biala zt”l, paid a special visit to the home of the Yenuka in Rishon LeZion.
During the visit, the Biala Rebbe presented the Yenuka with the sefer Noam Elimelech, which includes the awe-inspiring tefillah of the Rebbe Rav Elimelech of Lizhensk.
The Rebbe outlined the lineage of righteous figures in his dynasty, tracing it back to the Yehudi HaKadosh of Peshischa and earlier tzaddikim. In the course of the meeting, the Yenuka recounted the extraordinary episode involving the Yehudi HaKadosh, who was saved when a Russian soldier fired at him and, in a miraculous moment, he caught the lead bullet and stopped it.
The Biala Rebbe added that a similar miracle occurred with his illustrious grandfather, the Chelkas Yehoshua of Biala. After being taken to Siberia during the war and immersing himself in icy waters, a Russian soldier fired at him as well. In a strikingly similar event, he caught the bullet with his hand and was miraculously spared.
{Matzav.com}It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of Rav Shlomo Ephraim HaKohen Fischer zt”l, one of the distinguished figures of Yerushalayim Shel Maalah and a familiar presence on Bar Giora Street, in Yerushalayim at the age of 86.
Rav Fischer was born in Yerushalayim on 18 Kislev 5700 to his father, Rav Menachem Fischer, a member of Yerushalayim Old Yishuv and a talmid of Maharitz Dushinsky, and to his mother, Mrs. Chana, daughter of Rav Avraham Frenkel.
In his youth, he studied at Yeshivas Dushinsky and was among the early talmidim of Maharam Dushinsky. As a child of ten, he merited seeing Maharitz Dushinsky frequently, accompanying his father on visits to him.
Upon reaching marriageable age, he married Mrs. Yocheved Fischer, daughter of Rav Baruch Pinchas Goldberg, author of the sefarim Bikur Cholim Kehilchasah and Pnei Baruch-Aveilus Kehilchasa. She was a devoted volunteer who dedicated more than 30 years to assisting patients at Hadassah Hospital. She passed away in Adar 5782.
Rav Shlomo Ephraim served as a gabbai tzedakah and as a melamed of tinokos shel beis rabban. He frequently went to spend time in the Dushinsky court, participating in gatherings and hillulos. As recently as Erev Sukkos, he addressed the crowd at the hillula of the Maharitz in the courtyard of the Dushinsky Chassidus.
He is survived by children and grandchildren. One of his sons is Rav Chaim Fischer, a maggid shiur in the Ungvarer kehillah in Modiin Illit. His brother, Rav Avraham HaKohen Fischer, a respected figure in Bnei Brak and among the founders of the first chareidi orchestra, passed away in 5778.
The levayah took place today at the Shamgar Funeral Home in Yerushalayim, with kevurah on Har HaMenuchos.
Yehi zichro boruch.
{Matzav.com}
