The United States has announced that they have sent the aircraft carrier, the Abraham Lincoln to the Mediterranean along with a bomber task force after US intelligence said that there is a credible threat that Iran or one of its proxies was planning an attack against US forces in the region.
Iran has been rattling the saber for quite a while now, but it’s quite possible they would have one of the terrorist groups they support to actually carry out such an attack. The deployment is to send a clear message to Iran that any attack will be met with extreme force.
Late Sunday night, the White House made the surprise announcement that the USS Abraham Lincoln and a bomber task force were being deployed in response to unspecified “troubling and escalatory indications and warnings.”
A statement from national security adviser John Bolton said the deployments were intended “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.”
“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,” the statement continued.
U.S. officials told ABC News the deployments were in response to “clear indications” Iranian and Iranian proxy forces were preparing for a possible attack against U.S. forces on land, including in Iraq and Syria, and at sea. U.S. Central Command requested approval from acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan to move additional assets into the region, which Shanahan approved on Sunday, one official said.
“The movement of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln to the region was expedited and it was ordered there effective immediately,” another official said.
1 of 2: Last night’s announced deployment of the @CVN_72 and a @USAirForce bomber task force to the @CENTCOM area of responsibility, which I approved yesterday, represents a prudent repositioning of assets in response to indications of a credible threat by Iranian regime forces.
— Acting SecDef Pat Shanahan (@ActingSecDef) May 6, 2019
2 of 2: We call on the Iranian regime to cease all provocation. We will hold the Iranian regime accountable for any attack on US forces or our interests.
— Acting SecDef Pat Shanahan (@ActingSecDef) May 6, 2019