The United States Central Command, CENTCOM said the aircraft carrier strike group’s deployment in the region is aimed at promoting “regional security and stability”, but it comes not long after the US had warned Iran of a response amid the Iranian regime’s crackdown on protesters.
File image of USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group (Photo: US Navy)
A US carrier strike group has entered the Middle East, bringing back fears of a fresh conflict in the region where Iran is located.
It has been reported that USS Abraham Lincoln has reached the Middle East region and is currently under the area of responsibility of the United States Central Command, CENTCOM.
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CENTCOM said the carrier strike group’s deployment in the region is aimed at promoting “regional security and stability”, but it comes not long after the US had warned Iran of a response amid the Iranian regime’s crackdown on protesters. Thousands reportedly died in the recent anti-regime protests over economic hardship and other issues.
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The deployment came amid a warning from Iran’s top commander to the US. The commander of the powerful Revolutionary Guard Corps said that his forces had their “finger on the trigger” amid a standoff with the US that refuses to die down.
General Mohammad Pakpour is reported to have told the US and Israel “to avoid any miscalculation”.
“The Islamic Revolutionary Guards and dear Iran stand more ready than ever, finger on the trigger, to execute the orders and directives of the Commander-in-Chief,” Pakpour reportedly said, as per The Associated Press.
Iran’s Defence Ministry spokesperson Gen Reza Talaei-Nik had issued a similar warning to the two countries yesterday, stating any attack would “be met with a response that is more painful and more decisive than in the past”.
CENTCOM, in its first acknowledgement of the deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, said the aircraft carrier and other vessels were sailing in the Indian Ocean following orders for deployment in the Middle East.
Apart from the aircraft carrier, the strike group comprises three guided missile destroyers: the USS Frank E Petersen, Jr, the USS Spruance, and the USS Michael Murphy. Squadrons of F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers, F-35C fighter jets, and MH-60R/S helicopters are part of the strike group.
As per CBS News, the group was still on its way to the intended destination, dubbed the “station”.
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