US ally pulls warship away from a carrier group as risk of conflict with Iran skyrockets
- Spain has decided that it doesn't want its frigate sailing with the USS Abraham Lincoln into the Persian Gulf to challenge Iran.
- The Spanish defense ministry announced Tuesday that the new mission is inconsistent with the agreement on joint operations signed by the US and Spain.
- The Spanish warship will rejoin the carrier strike group once its deterrence mission concludes and it returns to regularly-scheduled operations.
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A European ally has decided to pull a warship away from a US carrier strike group sent to deter a possible Iranian attack on American interests, according to multiple reports.
The Spanish frigate Méndez Núñez and its 215 sailors are peeling off from the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, a powerful naval force consisting of a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, a Ticonderoga-class cruiser, and four Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, as well as support ships.
The Spanish defense ministry announced Tuesday that the country had decided to withdraw its warship because the new mission is inconsistent with the initial agreement. "The U.S. government has taken a decision outside of the framework of what had been agreed with the Spanish Navy," Acting Defense Minister Margarita Robles said, Reuters reported.
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The US Navy vessels were recently rerouted to the Persian Gulf in response to "clear indications that Iranian and Iranian proxy forces were making preparations to possibly attack US forces in the region," US Central Command explained.
Read more: The US is doubling down on its show of force to Iran with even more weapons
The US military has also deployed a bomber task force consisting of four B-52H Stratofortress bombers, a San-Antonio class amphibious transport dock, and a Patriot air-and-missile defense battery to the CENTCOM area of responsibility to demonstrate to Iran that the US is prepared to respond to any attack with "unrelenting force," as the White House said.
Read more: Why the US suddenly decided to send an aircraft carrier and bombers to check Iran
The Pentagon and the White House are reportedly exploring worst case scenarios, which could involve sending as many as 120,000 troops to the region, a force nearly as large as US troops who invaded Iraq in 2003.
Spanish media reported that "Spain wants to avoid being involuntarily dragged into any kind of conflict with Iran," but while the defense ministry has distanced itself from US actions, the ministry did not specifically identify this as a justification for its decision.
The decision was "not an expression of distaste," the defense minister clarified, adding that the ship will rejoin the US fleet once regularly-scheduled operations resume, Fox News reported. Spain insists that it remains a "serious and trustworthy partner."
The incorporation of the Méndez Núñez into the carrier strike group was planned over a year ago, and joint operations were expected to last six months. The initial mission was meant to mark a historic seafaring anniversary, the 500th anniversary of the first circumnavigation of the world, Reuters reported.