The USS George Washington (CVN 73) is currently conducting flight operations in the Arabian Sea, CENTCOM reported on Sept 28. A separate US aircraft carrier is now deploying to the Middle East to succeed the vessel and take over its mission in the region as part of a rotational swap of naval assets.

The rotation follows satellite imagery and reports that the US Navy abandoned its blockade line at the exit of the Gulf of Oman. Iran claims that attacks near the Strait of Hormuz on Sept 5 using Qasem Basir anti-ship ballistic missiles forced the withdrawal. According to Iran's SNSC chief Rezaei, the 1,200 km range of those missiles pushed US ships at least 400 km from the coast, reducing the number of US vessels in the Persian Gulf from 30 to zero.