Overview
- CENTCOM said Thursday the USS George H.W. Bush entered its Middle East command, joining the Abraham Lincoln and Gerald R. Ford for a three-carrier presence not seen there since 2003.
- President Trump told reporters, "Don't rush me," on when the war with Iran might end, and the Pentagon refused to share ship locations for force protection.
- CNN reported, citing multiple sources, that planners have options for strikes on small attack boats and mine-laying ships in the Strait of Hormuz if the ceasefire breaks.
- The Bush left Norfolk on March 31 and sailed around the Cape of Good Hope, a longer route that avoided the Houthi-threatened Red Sea chokepoint at Bab al-Mandab.
- El Economista reported the deployment spans more than a dozen warships, over 200 aircraft and about 15,000 personnel, and that U.S. forces have turned back dozens of cargo ships and seized two Iran-linked tankers.