'Troubling' signs: USS Lincoln strike force deployed to send 'clear and unmistakable' warning to Iran
'Troubling' signs: USS Lincoln strike force deployed to send 'clear and unmistakable' warning to Iran
May 6, 2019 | Tom Tillison | Print Article
(Photo credit LEE JIN-MAN/AFP/Getty Images)
In the event the Islamic Republic of Iran didn't get the memo, the United States is sending a "clear and unmistakable" reminder that Barack Obama no longer resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
National Security Adviser John Bolton announced Sunday night the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force is being sent to the Middle East "to send a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime," Fox News reported.
"[A]ny attack on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force," Bolton warned. "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."
Without elaborating, Bolton explained the deployment was in response to "a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings" from Iran, the world's leader of state-sponsored terror.
The strike group, under the command of Rear Adm. John Wade, departed Naval Station Norfolk on April 1 as part of a regularly scheduled deployment, according to Fox News — it includes the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, the guided missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf and destroyers from Destroyer Squadron 2.
This is not the first message that has been delivered to Tehran, as seen below in a tweet from Bolton last month in response to the U.S. imposing a new ban on Iranian oil.
The Iranian regime should understand that it must change its behavior now or continue to pay the cost for its destabilizing behavior, which only hurts the Iranian people. https://t.co/UkzK11mULT
— John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) April 22, 2019
This posturing is a far cry from the troubling images in January 2016 of 10 U.S. sailors being held at gunpoint in the Persian Gulf by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which the Trump administration designated a terrorist organization last month.
This occurring on President Obama's watch, and included then-Secretary of State John Kerry thanking Iran for its "appropriate reaction" and for handling the matter in an efficient and peaceful manner.
Kerry also praised Iran for how they treated the sailors and "assisted in their return to the fleet" — see released from captivity.
President Trump withdrew from the terrible Iran nuclear deal last year, "unraveling the signature foreign policy achievement of his predecessor Barack Obama," as put by the New York Times, and reimposed crippling sanctions — Iran's economy is now on the brink, according to the International Monetary Fund, which said the country is in a deep recession, with inflation at roughly 40 percent.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters the deployment is "something we've been working on for a little while."
"[W]e will hold the Iranians accountable for attacks on American interests. If these actions take place, if they do by some third-party proxy, a militia group, Hezbollah, we will hold the Iranian leadership directly accountable for that," he said.
The deployment comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, after two Israeli soldiers were shot by snipers from the Iran-backed militant group Islamic Jihad, Fox News reported.
There have also been 690 rockets fired from Gaza at Israelis, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The last 48 hours in Israel:
690 rockets fired from Gaza at Israeli civilians
240 Iron Dome Aerial Defense System interceptions
210,000 children had school cancelled
4 Israeli civilians killed
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 6, 2019
As part of their response, Israel launched an airstrike that killed Hamas commander Hamed al-Khoudary, a "money man" involved in the "transferring Iranian money to Hamas and Islamic Jihad."
PRECISION STRIKE: Earlier today, we targeted Hamed Ahmed Khudari in Gaza. He was responsible for transferring Iranian money to Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The funds were used to build the hundreds of rockets recently fired at Israel. Iran will need to find a new money man in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/2mv1oXLaB7
Pompeo also said in an interview on Fox News Sunday that there are "Iranians on the ground in Venezuela."
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