Risks rise between U.S., Iran with carrier, bombers deployed

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U.S. acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said on Monday he had approved sending a carrier strike group and bombers to the Middle East because of indications of a “credible threat by Iranian regime forces,” but did not provide any details on the underlying intelligence.

U.S. national security adviser John Bolton said on Sunday the United States was deploying the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the Middle East to send a message to Iran.

“(It) represents a prudent repositioning of assets in response to indications of a credible threat by Iranian forces,” Shanahan said on Twitter.

“We call on Iran to cease all provocation. We will hold Iran accountable for any attack on U.S. forces or our interests,” Shanahan added.

Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan testifies before a House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., May 1, 2019. /Reuters Photo

In a statement later on Monday, the Pentagon said the step was taken in response to “indications of heightened Iranian readiness to conduct offensive operations against U.S. forces and our interests.”

As a response, Iran's security body said the U.S announcement to send a message to Tehran amounted to "psychological warfare," the semi-official Tasnim news agency said on Tuesday.

"Bolton's statement is a clumsy use of a burnt-out happening for psychological warfare,” said Keyvan Khosravi, spokesman for the Supreme National Security Council, according to Tasnim, adding that the carrier had arrived in the Mediterranean weeks ago.

(Cover: The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) breaks away from the fast combat support ship USNS Arctic (T-AOE 8) after an underway replenishment-at-sea in the Mediterranean Sea in this April 29, 2019. /Reuters Photo)

Source(s): Reuters