Let’s talk about why the U.S. military needs to deploy aircraft carriers for operations. First, if you look at the U.S. military’s overseas operations of any significant scale over the past few decades, there’s always been an aircraft carrier strike group involved. Even 20 years ago, when Soleimani was killed, there was still a carrier strike group stationed in the Middle East. Second, while the U.S. does have quite a few bases in the Middle East, like the massive Al Udeid Air Base you mentioned, which is only 300 kilometers away, launching attacks from such a short distance is convenient but also makes them an easy target. Iran has plenty of missiles, and the shorter the distance, the harder it is to intercept—by several orders of magnitude. Over the past six months, Iran has reportedly ramped up missile production, with reports suggesting a monthly output of around 300 missiles. Third, and most importantly, carrier strike groups provide sustained air coverage, suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD), rapid response and deterrence, and long-range missile strikes. Carrier-based aircraft (F/A-18, F-35) are the key support for large-scale and sustained strikes. This is actually the critical factor. These past couple of days, everyone’s been saying that the U.S. military could still act against Iran without an aircraft carrier. But today’s news just confirms what was said earlier—without a carrier deployed in place, it’s very difficult to carry out military operations in the short term.