United States deploys carrier strike group to Middle East - Media
United States redeploys aircraft carrier strike group to Middle East (photo: wikimedia.org)
The Pentagon is redeploying an aircraft carrier strike group from the South China Sea to the area of responsibility of US Central Command, which includes the Middle East, News Nation reports.
According to media reports, the vessels heading toward the shores of the Middle East include the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, a strike submarine, and other ships. The redeployment of the group may take about a week.
The Pentagon ordered the redeployment of the carrier group amid rising tensions between Washington and Tehran. Mass rallies are taking place in Iran, and US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened the authorities of the Islamic Republic with a series of strikes if they continue to suppress demonstrations.
What preceded this
Earlier, Trump said that the killing of protesters in Iran had stopped. Asked whether this meant abandoning possible military action against Iran, the US president said Washington would continue to monitor developments.
The United States could not launch a military operation against Iran because it lacked the necessary military capabilities in the Middle East. Sources said the Pentagon had not planned any troop or equipment movements to the region.
A US attack is possible against the backdrop of large-scale protests raging in Iran since December 28. Unrest caused by economic problems quickly escalated into political rallies and clashes with security forces. More than 12,000 people may have been killed during the suppression of the protests.
At the same time, Trump threatened Iran if the regime began killing civilians, and later publicly called on Iranians to continue anti-government protests, seize institutions, and said that assistance to protesters was already on its way.
