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Rearming at sea

USS George Washington rearms in Arabian Sea

The carrier strike group is taking on standoff land-attack missiles and bunker-buster bombs, while US officials say no strike on Iran has been authorized.

USS George Washingon

The USS George Washington carrier strike group is rearming in the Arabian Sea with standoff land-attack missiles and bunker-buster bombs, the Wall Street Journal reported. A senior Israeli official has said that if a strike on Iran comes, Israel and the United States will carry it out together.

US officials cited by the Journal said no final decision on a strike against Iran has been authorized. They described the rearming as part of maintaining the military's readiness and said contingency options are being prepared.

Kan News reported that US Central Command had been ordered to prepare a plan for a strike on Iran, with no target date set. The order also put Israel's defense establishment on alert.

The senior Israeli official told Kan that the Israeli and American militaries had readied for another operation in Iran for the third time in roughly six months. This round had not reached the stage of approving a strike plan.

"It mainly depends on the Americans. It's clear to us that in any scenario, we strike together," the official said.

He named Tehran's position at the negotiating table as the core obstacle. "The Iranians are not willing to compromise on the nuclear issue in the negotiations, and that is the central issue," he said.

The Japan-based George Washington has operated in the region since mid-August, and the USS George H.W. Bush is also on station. The USS Theodore Roosevelt left San Diego on September 27 for a deployment projected to run longer than seven months. Navy officials have described it as a rotation in which the Roosevelt relieves the George Washington, while other reports place all three carriers in the region at the same time.

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