The USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier strike group has returned to the Middle East. The world’s largest aircraft carrier spent the last month in port after a laundry fire caused significant damage. 

On Saturday, The Associated Press reported speaking with two defense officials who confirmed that Ford had returned to the battlefield. The Ford will add to the substantial US military presence in the Middle East. The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group is already in the Middle East, and the USS George HW Bush will soon be the third carrier in the region. 

The Ford was positioned in the Eastern Mediterranean when the US and Israel started the war against Iran. Last month, as the ship was transiting the Red Sea, a fire broke out on the ship. The US says the blaze, which burned for over a day, was caused by a failure in the laundry system and caused significant damage. The ship spent a month in port before returning to the battlefield. 

The deployment comes as the two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran is nearing expiration. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he was dispatching a team of negotiators to Pakistan to present a final offer to Iran. The President threatened that if Tehran rejected the order, he would order strikes on every Iranian power plant and bridge. 

Before deployment to the Middle East, the Ford was operating in the Caribbean. The vessel conducted operations against suspected drug traffickers, and an attack on Venezuela that led to the kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro. 

During transit to the Eastern Mediterranean, the Ford experienced multiple plumbing failures, resulting in sewage backups.