The U.S. announced Tuesday the dispatch of a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East amidst heightened tensions with the Yemeni Houthis, who are disrupting navigation in the Red Sea.

The aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman, already in place, will be joined by the Carl Vinson, currently in the Indo-Pacific zone, “in order to continue promoting regional stability, deter any aggression and protect commercial flows in the region,” announced the spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense, Sean Parnell.

In its statement, the Pentagon did not specify a date or the area where the two carrier air groups will navigate. But this announcement comes as the Houthis, Yemeni rebels backed by Iran, claimed several attacks last month against the Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea.

They claimed early Wednesday to have carried out a new attack on the aircraft carrier, “the third in 24 hours,” according to their military spokesperson, Yahya Saree. Washington, which has carried out strikes in Yemen in recent weeks, has not confirmed these attacks.

The Houthis have targeted commercial navigation in the Red Sea since the beginning of the war in Gaza in October 2023, disrupting access to the Suez Canal, which handles 12% of global maritime traffic. They say they are targeting ships linked to Israel, in solidarity with the Palestinians.

Many vessels trying to reach the Mediterranean from the Indian Ocean are, as a consequence, having to circumvent the African continent via the Cape of Good Hope.

The U.S. Navy has around ten aircraft carriers. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the deployment in the region of “additional squadrons and other aerial assets that will reinforce our defensive support capabilities,” according to Parnell.

“More than 200 strikes”

On the ground in Yemen, the Houthis reported Wednesday a new toll of four dead and three wounded in strikes Tuesday night on Hodeida (west), which they attributed to Washington.

On March 15, the United States announced a new military offensive, promising to deploy overwhelming force as long as the Yemeni rebels continued to target ships. “These strikes against the Houthis have been incredibly effective,” White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday, citing the figure of “more than 200 successful strikes.”

For his part, President Donald Trump assured Monday on his Truth Social network that “the worst is yet to come for the Houthis and their supporters in Iran.” “Our attacks will continue until they are no longer a threat to navigation freedom,” the American president promised Monday.

At the end of March, Iran said it was open to “indirect” negotiations with the United States on its nuclear program, one of the major points of contention between the two countries. Iran claims it is not seeking to acquire nuclear weapons but that it “will have no choice but to do so” if attacked.

Western countries, led by the United States, have suspected for decades that Iran wants to acquire nuclear weapons. The country rejects these allegations and claims its program exists only for civilian purposes, particularly for energy. Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had earlier promised a “firm response” from Iran if the country was bombed.