The United States is deploying a carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the Middle East in a clear, strong warning to Iran.
The decision comes “in response to a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings,” according to U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton.
“The United States is not seeking war with the Iranian regime, but we are fully prepared to respond to any attack, whether by proxy, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or regular Iranian forces,” Bolton said on Sunday in a statement.
“The United States is deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force to the U.S. Central Command region to send a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime that any attack on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force,” he said.
An American government official told reporters on condition of anonymith that forces were ordered to the region “as a deterrence to what has been seen as potential preparations by Iranian forces and its proxies that may indicate possible attacks on U.S. forces in the region,” but added the U.S. is not expecting any imminent attack on those forces.
