The U.S. military is deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force to the Central Command region in the Middle East to send a "clear and unmistakable message" to Iran, national security adviser John Bolton said in a statement Sunday.
The action comes "in response to a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings," Bolton said, and is intended to convey "to the Iranian regime that any attack on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force.
"Bolton added: "The United States 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."
According to the Navy’s official website, the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group had departed Norfolk, Va., on April 1 for what was described as “as a regularly scheduled deployment.” Rear Adm. John Wade is commander of the carrier strike group
Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine