The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier and a US Air Force B-52H Stratofortress, conduct joint exercises in the US Central Command area of responsibility in Arabian Sea. (AP/ File)
A US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln along with three other supporting warships have arrived in the Middle East, renewing a potential threat that US President Donald Trump could opt for military action against Iran over its crackdown on protesters.
In a social media post on Monday, the US Central Command said the USS Abraham Lincoln along with three destroyers, “is currently deployed to the Middle East to promote regional security and stability.” The deployment of the aircraft carrier also indicates President Trump’s capabilities to defend US forces.
Sailors aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) perform routine maintenance as the aircraft carrier sails in the Indian Ocean, Jan. 26. The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is currently deployed to the Middle East to promote regional security and stability. pic.twitter.com/dkuN946hce
However, the Central Command stated the strike group was in the Indian Ocean and not in the Arabian Sea which borders Iran. The region will see thousands of additional service members being added as the last US aircraft carrier in the region, USS Gerald R Ford, was ordered to sail to the Caribbean in October.
This photo provided by the U.S. Navy shows a Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet landing on the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Indian Ocean. (US Navy via AP)
Trump had said last week that the United States had an “armada” heading towards Iran and he hoped that he wouldn’t have to use it. He said that ships were sent to the region “just in case.” The US president added, “We have a massive fleet heading in that direction, and maybe we won’t have to use it.”
As tensions in the Middle East soared between the US and Iran following a crackdown on protests across the Islamic Republic, Washington started deploying warships from the Asia-Pacific region. Trump had repeatedly threatened to intervene if Iran continued its crackdown on demonstrators, though the protests have subsided since then.
The protests began in Iran against the plunging economic situation in late December but swiftly escalated into a nationwide rally against the clerical rule led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian. The official Iranian death toll in the protests stood at 3,117.
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Trump had changed his stance of taking military action against Iran when he said that he had been told that killings were subsiding and that he believes there is currently no plan for the executions of prisoners.
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The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier and a US Air Force B-52H Stratofortress, conduct joint exercises in the US Central Command area of responsibility in Arabian Sea. (AP/ File) 
