The US military, in recent weeks, has reportedly been closing in with its buildup near Iran as President Donald Trump had last month promised the protesting Iranians that “help was coming” and referred to the military buildup in the region as “armada”.
Trump, on January 22, spoke about a “great aramada” heading to Iran, where he referred to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its carrier strike group. The BBC has now confirmed, using satellite imagery, that the location of USS Abraham Lincoln is near Iran.
The US military is allegedly ready for a potential strike on Iran as soon as this weekend, The Guardian reported, citing unnamed sources on Wednesday. The report added that President Trump is yet to take a call on whether to go ahead with the strike on Tehran.
What Trump has said on Iran
However, during the Board of Peace meeting on Thursday, the US president warned Iran that a “meaningful deal” needs to happen otherwise “bad things will happen”.
In a statement, Trump said, “Good talks are being had. It’s proven to be, over the years, not easy to make a meaningful deal with Iran. We have to make a meaningful deal, otherwise, bad things happen, but we have to make a meaningful deal.”
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Military buildup near Iran
The USS Abraham Lincoln and its carrier strike group will be joined shortly by USS Gerald Ford and its strike group, a Sky News report stated. In the next 24 hours, the Gerald Ford will be passing through the Gibraltar Strait and is expected to reach its destination in the south of Cyprus in around four days.
The region is set to have 11 known and named US destroyers, which will include two Nimitz-class carriers and Tomahawk-carrying destroyers that will bring an extra pair of air defence. They are set to join three Littoral Combat Ships, which are already stationed in the region, the outlet reported.
Every carrier strike group also reportedly includes a nuclear attack submarine, most probably of the Virginia class. If President Trump orders the US military to initiate action, the carrier’s stealthy F-35 fighters and F/A-18 attack planes are within striking distance of Iran’s several targets.
Defence against retaliation
Covering the retaliatory tactics which Iran could deploy, America’s strategic and tactical airlifters, including Globemaster flights, were deployed to bring air defence assets to US bases in the region.
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The air defence batteries of Israel’s ‘Iran Dome’ have also been moved from its frontier with Gaza to the borders in the east, Sky News reported. It could have been done considering an Iranian retaliation in the event of a potential US strike.
Though the movement of American warships and aeroplanes does not solidify that the US is going to strike Iran, it, however, gives President Trump an edge to carry out if the Republican leader chooses to do so.
Which military assets has the US moved to the Middle East?
According to a BBC report, images publicly available from the European Sentinel-2 satellites show that at least 12 US ships have gathered in the Middle East region.
- Abraham Lincoln
- Nimitz-class carrier
- Three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers
- Two destroyers
- Three specialist ships for combat
- Two other destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean
Among the US aircraft being deployed in the Middle East are:
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- F-15 fighter jets
- EA-18 fighter jets
- US cargo planes
- Communications aircraft
- Refuelling aircraft
- MQ-9 Reaper drones
