Coronado-based warship in Middle East as ‘major combat operation' announced

The U.S. and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Saturday, and U.S. President Donald Trump called on the Iranian people to “seize control of your destiny” by rising up against the Islamic leadership that has ruled the nation since 1979. Iran retaliated by launching missiles and drones toward Israel and U.S. military bases in the region.

This comes weeks after the U.S. Department of Defense sent additional weaponry and assets to the Middle East, including warships, air defenses and submarines, ahead of possible strikes. On Feb. 13, the USS Ford Carrier Strike Group was notified that they were leaving the Caribbean and headed to the Middle East, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the decision who spoke to NBC News. 

They were the second strike group in the region and joined the Naval Air Station North Island-based USS Abraham Lincoln Strike Group. In early February, American forces shot down an Iranian drone Tuesday as it “aggressively” approached the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea and appeared to have “unclear intent,” U.S. Central Command said. Otherwise, defense officials have remained tight-lipped about assets in the Middle East to protect their operational security. 

In the pre-recorded video posted by President Trump, where he announced the military action, he addressed the risk American troops face and said, in part, “the Iranian regime seeks to kill. The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties that often happens in war, but we’re doing this, not for now, we’re doing this for the future and it is a noble mission.” 

California Governor Gavin Newsom posted on X Saturday morning in reference to the strikes. The post read, “the corrupt and repressive Iranian regime must never have nuclear weapons. The leadership of Iran must go. But that does not justify the President of the United States engaging in an illegal, dangerous war that will risk the lives of our American service members and our friends without justification to the American people.”

U.S. Representative Sara Jacobs, who represents California’s 51st district, also released a statement. It read, in part, “Donald Trump’s strikes on Iran will go down as one of the biggest foreign policy blunders in American history. He’s failed to learn from history that the United States has an abysmal track record of success for military adventures in the Middle East. He’s putting our service members and our country at immediate risk for retaliation, wasting billions of taxpayer dollars, and setting us up for another endless war – all for regime change, that in the end will likely backfire.” 

She also said “only Congress can declare war” and referenced San Diego’s military community and said that, “For my generation and my community in San Diego, war isn’t abstract or an out of sight, out of mind issue – it’s real and we pay the human cost of it.” 

U.S. Senator Alex Padilla added in a statement, in part, “at a time when millions of hardworking families face higher costs of living and skyrocketing health care to pay for tax breaks for billionaires, Donald Trump is now pushing the country toward a war that risks American lives without presenting a clear justification to the American people or any plan to prevent escalation and chaos in the region.” 

U.S. Representative Darrell Issa, who represents California’s 48th district, posted a brief statement to his X account that read, “may God bless and protect our brave service members as they carry out their duties and their mission.”

U.S. Representative Scott Peters, who represents California’s 50th district, shared a statement that read, “I did not see an imminent threat to the United States that required immediate military action.” It began with a direct mention of armed forces and read, in part, “on behalf of my family, and our entire San Diego community — home to a proud military presence that plays a critical role in our national defense — we wish our troops success and safety as they embark on this dangerous mission.”

This is a developing story.

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