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USS Gerald R. Ford Returns After 300-Day Deployment
The USS Gerald R. Ford is set to end its record-breaking deployment and return to Virginia following operations in the Iran conflict. President Trump extended the naval blockade on Iran until nuclear talks advance, amid global energy disruptions boosting Russia's oil revenues. Ukraine has intensified drone strikes on Russian energy sites in response.
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U.S. Navy announced the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier and its accompanying destroyers—USS Mahan, USS Winston S. U.S.
Officials said. The carrier, on its longest deployment since the Vietnam War exceeding 300 days, participated in combat operations against Iran and the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. President Donald Trump stated Iran must 'cry uncle' and say 'We give up' to end the naval blockade, during an April 29, 2026, Oval Office event with Artemis II astronauts.
Trump told Axios in a phone interview on April 29, 2026, that he rejected an Iranian peace offer to lift the blockade and reopen the Strait of Hormuz without addressing nuclear capabilities. 'Militarily, we've wiped them out. They have no military left there,' Trump said.
'The Navy's at the bottom of the sea. Trump added to Axios that the blockade is 'somewhat more effective than the bombing,' noting Iran's oil storage and pipelines 'are getting close to exploding' due to export restrictions. The Pentagon has spent $25 billion on Operation Epic Fury, mostly on munitions, Pentagon comptroller Jay Hurst stated during an April 29, 2026, House hearing on the budget request.
-Israeli airstrikes on military, government, and infrastructure sites. -Iran talks in Pakistan in early April 2026 failed to produce a peace deal. Trump then announced an open-ended ceasefire extension and continued naval blockade until Iran submits a nuclear proposal.
The USS Gerald R. Ford left Naval Station Norfolk in June 2025 for the Mediterranean Sea, rerouted to the Caribbean in October 2025 for the Maduro operation, then entered the Red Sea via the Suez Canal in early March 2026. A fire in the carrier's laundry space forced a return to the Mediterranean for repairs.
U.S. official said. W. Bush arrived in the Middle East last week, joining the USS Abraham Lincoln there since January 2026, marking three carriers in the region for the first time since 2003.
