US acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said on Monday
that 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.”
US national security adviser John Bolton said on Sunday that
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 regime forces,”
Shanahan said on Twitter.
“We call on the Iranian regime to cease all provocation. We
will hold the Iranian regime accountable for any attack on US forces or our
interests,” he added.
Shanahan in his tweet provided no details on the threat.
Three US officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity,
told Reuters on Monday that “multiple, credible threats” picked up by
intelligence were primarily against US forces in Iraq by Iran and its proxy
forces. They said there was also concern about US forces in Syria and in the
waters nearby.
One of the officials said the intelligence was specific
enough that it detailed the locations of potential attacks against US forces
and the time frame within which it could occur. The official added that the
threat was not only against US forces in Iraq but those coming in and out of
the region.
The action marked the latest in a series of moves by
President Donald Trump’s administration aimed at ratcheting up pressure on Iran
in recent months.
The Trump administration’s efforts to impose political and
economic isolation on Tehran began last year when it unilaterally withdrew from
the nuclear deal it and other world powers negotiated with Iran in 2015.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking in Finland where
he was attending the Arctic Council meeting, said on Monday the United States has
seen activity from Iran that indicated a possible “escalation,” one day after
the United States said it would send a carrier strike group to the Middle East
to counter a “credible threat by Iranian regime forces.”
There are currently about 5,200 US troops in Iraq and under
2,000 American forces in Syria.
