Is the United States digging in for a war with IRAN? Trump says service on the Lincoln is "not long enough"

[Financial News]  

As the war with IRAN enters its sixth month, the United States, cornered, has drawn a line in the sand.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declared that sanctions on IRAN would be imposed at a level "the world has never seen before."
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also said the U.S. military could maintain the maritime blockade of IRAN "indefinitely," even as concerns grew that the carrier force had been severely weakened by its long deployment at sea.
Experts worry that this hardline U.S. stance could have a negative impact on global oil prices.
In an interview with Newsmax on the 6th local time, Bessent said the sanctions on IRAN would be "a combination of economic isolation the world has never seen and the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz, so that nothing can move in or out of Iranian ports." He declined to go into specifics.
According to CNBC on the 7th, Hegseth said the same day that the U.S. Navy's blockade of IRAN would proceed without disruption.
He added that the blockade could continue "indefinitely" and said the Navy would keep rotating ships in and out, as it does now.
The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, dispatched to enforce the blockade of IRAN, has now been on mission for more than 250 days. It had originally been scheduled to complete its deployment at the end of May, but the war has kept it in place.
As reports mounted that crew fatigue had reached extreme levels and that facilities aboard the carrier had deteriorated, the George Washington Carrier Strike Group moved in to take over the mission. The U.S. Navy said the George Washington strike group departed Vietnam on the 12th.
Hegseth also told reporters that reports of poor conditions aboard the Lincoln, including food shortages, low morale and even attempts by crew members to flee, were "completely distorted."
Soon after Hegseth's remarks, Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) posted on social media platform X a letter he had sent to Hegseth and Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao, expressing serious concern about conditions aboard the Lincoln.
The letter said, "The reports coming from military families and loved ones about conditions inside the Lincoln are completely unacceptable," adding that they include "moldy showers, broken toilets, a lack of hot water, shortages of fresh produce, and shortages of supplies."
It also criticized sailors and Marines for being subjected to an "excessive workload," which it said was leading to "severe fatigue and exhaustion."
Earlier, Iranian media claimed on the 11th that a "violent clash" broke out aboard the Lincoln, killing seven U.S. Navy personnel and injuring several others.
In a rebuttal posted on X, CENTCOM said the report of a brawl aboard the carrier was false and that no service members had died.
As the controversy grew, President Donald Trump dismissed concerns about worsening conditions aboard the Lincoln, which has been deployed to Middle East operations for nearly nine months.
According to CNN, Trump instead argued that the Lincoln's deployment had not actually lasted long enough.
When reporters at Joint Base Andrews asked him whether crew members' families had raised concerns about mental health and living conditions, he replied, "No. They don't."
Trump said the Lincoln would soon hand off its mission to "another, very similar ship" and leave the Middle East. Asked whether the 8-and-a-half-month deployment was too long, he said, "No, no, no. It's not long enough."


[email protected] Song Kyung-jae Reporter