USS Stennis Carrier Group Deploys Into Gulf Region (Andy Critchlow)

  A U.S. aircraft carrier battle group led by the USS John C. Stennis arrives in the Persian Gulf region as part of a buildup of forces amid heightened tension with Iran.

  Feb. 20 (Bloomberg) -- A U.S. aircraft carrier battle group led by the USS John C. Stennis arrived in the Persian Gulf region as part of a buildup of forces amid heightened tension with Iran.

  The Nimitz-class Stennis, sent by President George W. Bush last month, arrived in the region Feb. 15 to join the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower as the second aircraft carrier battle group in the region, the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet said today in an e-mailed statement. The fleet's area of operations includes the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, to the east of the Arabian Peninsula.

  The deployment of additional naval forces ``is here to help foster stability and security in the region,'' Rear Admiral Kevin Quinn, commander of the naval force, said in the statement.

  Bush said Feb. 14 that he's convinced the Qods Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is supplying explosives to militants in neighboring Iraq who are attacking U.S. forces. The U.S. administration also accuses Iran of using its nuclear power plans to disguise a weapons program, an allegation Iran denies.

  The United States has contingency plans to attack Iranian nuclear sites and military infrastructure if the Islamic Republic is confirmed to be developing a nuclear weapon or is linked to a major attack on U.S. forces in Iraq, the British Broadcasting Corp. said today, citing unidentified diplomatic officials.

  ``Certainly another carrier gives the United States the ability to act if they are provoked by Iran,'' Mustafa Alani, director of national security at the Dubai, United Arab Emirates-based Gulf Research Center said in a phone interview today.

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