Image copyright
Getty Images
The USS Arlington will join the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Gulf
A second US military ship is heading to the Middle East to join an aircraft carrier deployed just days ago as tensions with Iran escalate.
The USS Arlington – which transports amphibious vehicles and aircraft – will join the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Gulf, and a Patriot air defence missile system will be sent to US forces.
B-52 bombers have also arrived at a US base in Qatar, officials say.
The Pentagon says Iran may be preparing operations against US forces.
The US has given little information about the exact nature of the reported threat, which Iran has dismissed as nonsense – Tehran has said the deployments are “psychological warfare” aimed at intimidating the country.
On Friday, the Pentagon said that the US did not seek conflict with Iran, but that Washington was “ready to defend US forces and interests in the region.”
“The Department of Defense continues to closely monitor the activities of the Iranian regime,” it said in a statement.
It added that the Patriot system was also being deployed “to counter” any possible attack.
Officials told US media the USS Arlington had already been scheduled to go to the region, but its deployment was brought forward to provide enhanced command and control capabilities.
- Iran nuclear crisis in 300 words
- Nuclear deal – all you need to know
On Sunday, US National Security Adviser John Bolton said the military deployments would “send a clear and unmistakeable message” to the Iranian regime that any attack on US interests in the region “will be met with unrelenting force”.
The USS Abraham Lincoln passed through the Suez Canal on Thursday, US Central Command said.
The BBC’s defence and diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says that while it is not unusual for an aircraft carrier and its battle group to be sent to the Gulf, the move will spark fears that a possible conflict could erupt either by accident or by design.
What’s the state of relations between America and Iran?
Last year, US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from a landmark nuclear deal America and other nations had agreed with Iran in 2015.
Under the accord, Iran had agreed to limit its sensitive nuclear activities and allow in international inspectors in return for sanctions relief.
And last month the White House said it would end exemptions from sanctions for five countries – China, India, Japan, South Korea and Turkey – that were still buying Iranian oil.
- How renewed US sanctions have hit Iran hard
- Is it about to become more expensive to fill my car?
At the same time the US also blacklisted Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard Corps, designating it as a foreign terrorist group.
The Trump administration hopes to compel Iran to negotiate a “new deal” that would cover not only its nuclear activities, but also its ballistic missile programme and what officials call its “malign behaviour” across the Middle East.
The sanctions have led to a sharp downturn in Iran’s economy, pushing the value of its currency to record lows, driving away foreign investors, and triggering protests.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to retaliate to the US measures by blocking the Strait of Hormuz – though which about a fifth of all oil consumed globally pass.
Earlier this week Iran announced that it had suspended two commitments under the 2015 accord in response to the economic sanctions the US had reimposed.
It also threatened to step up uranium enrichment if it was not shielded from the sanctions’ effects within 60 days.
European powers said they remained committed to the Iran nuclear deal but that they “reject any ultimatums” from Tehran to prevent its collapse.