President Trump said Thursday that an “armada” of US warships is heading to the Middle East as he continues to watch the Iranian regime’s response to mass protests that began in late December.
“We have a lot of ships going in that direction just in case,” Mr. Trump said when reporters on Air Force One asked him where things stand with Iran. He said it was a “good sign” that Iran had decided not to hang the protesters, adding that “we have an army in that direction and we may not have to use it.”
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its escort ships were in the Indian Ocean Friday morning, according to defense officials. The carrier strike group brings together about 5,000 sailors and marines with squadrons of fighter jets, helicopters and electronic attack aircraft.
Lincoln was in the Pacific Ocean when the president first warned on social media that the US was “locked and loaded” to strike Iran if the regime killed anti-government protesters.
Since the beginning of the demonstrations, Iranian Human Rights Activists), a US-based non-governmental organization, more than 4,000 demonstrators They have been killed so far and he says that number will increase.
Mr Trump last week played down threats against Iran after saying he had heard it on “good authority”.It is stopping the killing in Iran,” and later said that Iran’s suspension of the alleged executions “had a major influence” on his decision not to attack Iran that week.
His comments on Thursday about the flotilla heading to the Middle East indicate that he has not completely ruled out action against Iran over its handling of mass protests over worsening economic conditions.
The Lincoln carrier strike group may arrive in the Middle East in the next few days. It will be joined by two destroyers, USS McFaul and USS Mitscher, and three littoral combat ships.
The US military is rarely without an aircraft carrier in the Middle East. During the 12-day war between Iran and Israel last year, two aircraft carriers were in the Middle East.
The last carrier near the Middle East was the USS Gerald R. Ford, which left the Mediterranean after heading to the Caribbean with its escort ships. About a dozen US Navy ships have been deployed as part of the Pentagon’s anti-narcotics operation, but now they are helping enforce the Trump administration’s quarantine of sanctioned oil tankers near Venezuela.