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Reuters

A US aircraft carrier and supporting warships have arrived ‍in the Middle East, two US officials told Reuters on Monday, expanding US President Donald Trump’s capabilities to defend US forces, or potentially take military action against Iran.
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers have crossed ⁠into the Middle East region, which comes under the US military’s Central Command, the officials told Reuters.
Trump said on Thursday the United States had an “armada” heading towards Iran, but hoped he would not have to use it.
The warships began deploying from the Asia-Pacific region earlier this month, as ‍tensions between Iran and the United States escalated following a crackdown on protests across Iran.

Trump had ‍repeatedly threatened to intervene if Iran continued to kill protesters but the countrywide demonstrations have since abated.
The president said he had been told that ‌killings were subsiding and that he believes there is currently no plan for the executions of prisoners.
The US ‍military has in the past surged forces into the Middle East at times of heightened tensions, moves that were often defensive.
However, the US military staged a major build-up last year ahead of its June strikes against Iran’s nuclear programme.
In addition ‌to the ⁠carrier and warships, the Pentagon is also moving fighter jets and air-defence systems to the Middle East.
Over the weekend, the US military said that it would carry out an exercise in the region “to demonstrate the ability to deploy, disperse, and sustain combat air power”.




Iran’s foreign ministry warned on Monday of a “comprehensive and regret-inducing response to any aggression”.
Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said: “The arrival of such a battleship is not going to affect Iran’s determination and seriousness to defend the Iranian nation”.
A senior military official told state television that the “build-up of extra-regional forces and equipment... would not act as a deterrent but rather increase their vulnerability and turn them into accessible targets”.
Meanwhile, a new anti-US billboard has appeared in the central Enghelab Square in Tehran that appears to show an American aircraft carrier being destroyed.
“If you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind,” its English-language caption reads.
The United Arab Emirates said on Monday it will not let its airspace, territory or territorial waters ‌be used for any hostile ‌military actions against Iran.
The US military’s Al Dhafra Air Base is located south of the UAE capital Abu Dhabi and has been a critical US Air Force hub in support of key missions against Islamic State, as well as reconnaissance deployments across the region.
Additional reporting by dpa and Agence France-Presse


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US-Iran tensions

US aircraft carrier arrives in the Middle East amid tensions with Iran

An F/A-18E Super Hornet lands on the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Indian Ocean on January 22. Photo: US Navy via AP

A new anti-US billboard has appeared in the central Enghelab Square in Tehran that appears to show an American aircraft carrier being destroyed. Photo: AFP

Exiled crown prince’s plan for Iran seen as mostly aimed at Trump

Iranians demonstrate in Rome against the Iranian leadership and in support of the exiled shah’s son, Reza Pahlavi. Photo: Marco Di Gianvito/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Rez Pahlavi’s father, Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and his wife, Empress Farah Diba, during an official state visit to France in 1961. Photo: AFP

A masked demonstrator in Iran holds a picture of Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran. Photo: UGC via AP

Iranian protesters demonstrate against Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in Tehran in 1978. Photo: AP

Iran unveils bloody anti-US billboard as carrier force nears

The billboard depicts a damaged US aircraft carrier with disabled fighter jets on its deck. Photo: AP

Women, not wearing the legally required headscarves, walk past the new billboard in Tehran. Photo: AP

The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier and a US B-52H Stratofortress conduct joint exercises in the Arabian Sea in 2019. Photo: US Navy via AP

US ‘armada’ heading towards Iran as tensions remain high

The USS Abraham Lincoln and other warships transit the Strait of Hormuz in 2019. Photo: US Navy via AFP

US President Donald Trump in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday. Photo: Keystone via AP

A photograph taken during a tour for foreign media shows buses that were burnt at a depot during protests in Tehran. Photo: AFP

Iran will treat attack as ‘all-out war’, says official, as US armada heads to Middle East

US President Donald Trump stands next to a fighter jet before speaking to members of the military on an aircraft carrier in October. Photo: AP

Iranians attend an anti-government protest in Tehran on January 9. Photo: via AP

This photograph taken during a tour for foreign media in Tehran on January 21 shows a woman walking past a government building that was burned during recent protests. Photo: AFP

Saudi-UAE rift risks tearing Middle East apart: ‘anything can happen’

Yemeni separatists wave South Yemen and UAE flags during a protest against Saudi Arabia in Aden on December 30. Photo: EPA

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in New Delhi on January 19. Photo: EPA

Syrian government security forces patrol near a prison on the outskirts of Raqqa on Thursday, amid renewed tensions between Damascus and Kurdish-led forces over control and governance of the region. Photo: AFP

Saudi-backed Yemeni forces in Mukalla, Yemen, on January 19 amid accusations that the UAE has run secret detention sites in southern Yemen. Photo: AFP

News

World

Middle East

United States & Canada

US President Donald Trump has not ruled out a military intervention as the US ‘armada’ reaches the region


US President Donald Trump has not ruled out a military intervention as the US ‘armada’ reaches the region.


US aircraft carrier arrives in the Middle East amid tensions with Iran

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}US President Donald Trump has not ruled out a military intervention as the US ‘armada’ reaches the region

US President Donald Trump has not ruled out a military intervention as the US ‘armada’ reaches the region