President Donald Trump told reporters on Feb. 13 that he is sending a second U.S. aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East, in case ongoing negotiations with Iran fall through.

Last month, Trump said he had ordered a “massive armada” to deploy to the Middle East. Since then, the USS Abraham Lincoln and other warships in its carrier strike group have reached the nearby Arabian Sea.

“In case we don’t make a deal, we‘ll need it,” Trump said regarding a second carrier group as he left the White House for Fort Bragg, North Carolina. “It’ll be leaving very soon,” he added.

As he concluded his Fort Bragg visit later on Friday afternoon, Trump raised the stakes for Tehran.

Asked if he would prefer regime change in Iran, Trump said, “It seems like that would be the best thing that could happen.”

“For 47 years, they’ve been talking, and talking, and talking. In the meantime, we’ve lost a lot of lives while they talk.”

Trump declined a follow-up question on whom he would prefer to take over in Iran.

The president has previously questioned whether one regime change proponent, exiled Iranian activist Reza Pahlavi, would have sufficient support to lead a change of government.

Nevertheless, Trump has gradually ramped up the stakes for negotiations with Tehran.

At a White House press conference on Feb. 12, a reporter asked the president about his intended timeline for negotiations with Tehran.

“I guess over the next month, something like that,” Trump replied.

The Trump administration has not offered direct confirmation of other key details about the carrier deployments.

In a Feb. 12 Truth Social post, Trump linked to an article by The Wall Street Journal that cited an unnamed official who said a second carrier could deploy from the East Coast of the United States in about two weeks.

The Wall Street Journal article noted the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush is completing a series of pre-deployment training exercises off the coast of Virginia and cited an unnamed official saying these final deployment preparations could be expedited.

The Pentagon declined to comment when reached by The Epoch Times for more details about the carrier deployment plans.

Ongoing negotiations appear largely focused on curtailing Iran’s nuclear programs. Further demands for Iran to limit its missile programs may prove to be a sticking point in the negotiations.

After concluding a round of talks in Oman last week, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran’s missile programs would not be up for discussion.

By contrast, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged that a deal include limitations on Iran’s missile capabilities and support for armed proxies across the Middle East.

Iranian officials have threatened a regional conflict if they come under attack.

Following U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025, Iranian forces launched a salvo of ballistic missiles at a base hosting U.S. troops in Qatar. Trump said Tehran notified Washington in advance of the strikes, and U.S. forces were able to intercept those Iranian missiles without sustaining casualties.