White House says aircraft carrier movement "routine"

WASHINGTON, April 9 (Xinhua) -- The White House on Monday described the aircraft carrier movement in the Gulf as "routine," and not related to tensions stemming from the Iranian nuclear issue.

In his daily briefing, White House Spokesman Jay Carney said reports that there are two carrier groups in the Gulf is "based on the schedule where there is roughly one and a half carrier groups at all times in the Gulf."

"As I understand, this is a part of routine rotation," said Carney.

There are currently two carrier strike groups in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR), which includes the Gulf. USS Abraham Lincoln is in the north Arabian Sea, which is not the Gulf region itself, while USS Enterprise is transiting the Gulf of Aden.

The Enterprise arrived in the U.S. 5th Fleet AOR in April 3, replacing the USS Carl Vinson, which has left the zone for the Bay of Bengal. The Central Command said the Enterprise and Abraham Lincoln are there to "support the combatant commander's operational requirements, while ensuring security and stability in the U.S. 5th Fleet AOR."

The Pentagon also described the movement as routine.

A new round of negotiation between world powers and Iran on its nuclear program will be held on April 14 in Istanbul, as tensions around the country's nuclear program has grown for the past months.