Reuters: US aircraft carriers to arrive in Middle East in coming days

A US carrier strike group and fighter jets are expected to arrive in the Middle East in the coming days.

US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the deployment includes the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers, Reuters reports.

One US official noted that Washington is also considering deploying additional air-defence systems to the Middle East, a move that could prove critical in protecting American bases in the region from a potential Iranian strike.

At the same time, President Donald Trump said on January 21 that the United States has an ‘armada’ heading toward Iran, but expressed hope it would not be used, while renewing warnings to Tehran against killing protesters or restarting its nuclear program.

"We have a lot of ships going that direction, just in case …I'd rather not see anything happen, but we're watching them very closely," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One while returning to the United States after meeting world leaders in Davos, Switzerland.

The deployments broaden the range of options available to Trump, both to strengthen the defence of US forces across the region amid heightened tensions and to enable further military action following strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June.

The warships began moving from the Asia-Pacific region last week as tensions between Iran and the United States escalated sharply after a severe crackdown on protests across Iran in recent months.

Trump had repeatedly threatened intervention over the killings of protesters, though demonstrations subsided last week, and the president later softened his rhetoric, saying he had halted executions of prisoners.

By Jeyhun Aghazada