US forces on the move: What’s deployed in the Middle East

The Pentagon has sent a range of US military assets to the Middle East in recent weeks, including an aircraft carrier group and thousands of troops, as President Donald Trump signals he is prepared to strike Iran if necessary.

“We have a lot of very big, very powerful ships sailing to Iran right now, and it would be great if we didn’t have to use them,” Trump said on Thursday.

The president initially warned of military action if Iran carried out mass executions or targeted peaceful protesters. He later claimed Iran had stopped the hangings of 800 detained demonstrators, a statement Iran’s top prosecutor called “completely false.”

Trump has also said Iran must reach a deal on its nuclear programme, warning that failure to do so could trigger strikes “far worse” than last year’s attacks on Iranian nuclear sites.

The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, accompanied by three guided-missile destroyers, arrived in the Arabian Sea on Monday after leaving the South China Sea last week, according to US Central Command. The carrier strike group adds roughly 5,700 service members to the region.

These ships join three other US Navy destroyers already in the area, two near the Strait of Hormuz and one in the Red Sea, along with three smaller littoral combat ships in the Arabian Gulf. The US maintains several bases in the Middle East, including Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which serves as the forward headquarters for US Central Command.

The US Air Force has also deployed F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets to the Middle East to “enhance combat readiness and promote regional security and stability,” Central Command said. The UK Ministry of Defence also sent Typhoon fighter jets to the region in a defensive capacity.

Flight-tracking analysts report dozens of US military cargo planes are moving into the region, echoing last year’s build-up of air defence hardware, including Patriot missile systems, ahead of potential Iranian retaliation.

The latest deployments underline the fragile situation in the region as the US and Iran remain on edge, balancing a show of force with efforts to avoid a full-scale military confrontation.

—  With inputs from AP