The U.S. is sending a carrier strike group and bombers to the Middle East region as a message to Iran after learning of “troubling” signs of possible attacks, the White House said Sunday night.
National Security Adviser John R. Bolton said the U.S. “is not seeking war with the Iranian regime, but we are fully prepared to respond to any attack, whether by proxy, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or regular Iranian forces.”
He said that in response to “a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings,” the U.S. is deploying the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the U.S. Central Command region.
Mr. Bolton said the move is intended “to send a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime that any attack on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force.”
The U.S. Central Command’s region includes the Middle East.
The statement comes as new violence has flared for several days between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza, with rocket attacks landing in Israeli territory and causing casualties.
The deployment also comes amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran, with the administration announcing new sanctions against countries that import oil from Tehran.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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