A SECOND US aircraft carrier is operating in Middle Eastern waters in the run-up to the next round of talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s nuclear programme, the Associated Press news agency reported today following an analysis of satellite images.

The USS Carl Vinson and its strike group have joined the USS Harry S Truman in the Arabian Sea, where the latter has been conducting air strikes against parts of Yemen controlled by the Houthi government for the past month.

Washington officials have insisted that the US campaign against the Houthis is a means to put pressure on their ally Iran in the negotiations.