US moves nuclear-powered warship to Middle East

[Twiglets1]

The US has moved one of its most powerful warships to the Middle East amid rising tensions with Iran over the killing of protesters, the Pentagon has said.

The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and its strike group have moved west from the Indo-Pacific region, satellite data from Copernicus shows. It includes fighter jets, guided missile destroyers and an attack submarine.

Sources told The Hill that the movement of the ship to the Middle East would take around a week, with Washington continuing to threaten strikes on Tehran over its brutal crackdown on protests.

Trump's envoy to the UN, Mike Waltz, insisted “all options are on the table” during an emergency Security Council meeting to discuss the Iran crisis. The US also warned Tehran’s leadership that any further killing will have “grave consequences”.

So I wonder - is Trump really prepared to keep out of the uprising in Iran despite saying that help is on the way? Or is he just stalling for time?

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-trump-military-action-protests-latest-news-b2901654.html

A strong signal form the US. I wonder if there is now thought about US action if there is another wave of protests. The regime is weakened and part of the weakness was due to the decisive and unopposed strikes against nuclear facilities and other military sites.

I’ve heard there’s been a lot more USAF planes coming over and landing at the airbases in the U.K. whether this was routine or not I don’t know. Whether they’re staying here or moving further towards the Middle East I don’t know….not even sure if the usaf have bases nearer the Middle East But I do suspect they’re getting things in place.

To me it seems like the US are putting things in place but not yet committed either way to going into Iran or not.

With words Trump is signalling that he is satisfied that the Iran leadership has stopped killed their own people.

And yet a nuclear warship has headed for the middle East ... contradictory messages maybe or maybe he really is just undecided, who knows.

It takes a while for a warship to get anywhere and moving it is part of applying pressure so its presence doesn't always mean something is actually going to happen.

Good point @SharonEllis it could just be a show of strength and not a signal of anything about to happen.

Thanks for another judicious thread @Twiglets1. I always guess from the titles it’s you!

I believe Trump is undecided. The risk for the US, Middle East and the world is huge. But the upside of the mullahs and that awful leadership’s removal and replacement by something different could be wonderful.

It's really difficult to predict the results of military action but the knowledge of US support in the region might give people hope? It looks like the Iranian regime is going permanently ban the internet so they are running scared of more protests. The countries economy is going in only one direction so people will continue to suffer so another uprising is on the cards and if the IGRC exhibit the same behaviour there will be few years she'd if their barracks and infrastructure are wiped out.

There is a bad in Qatar but maybe you need a lot of material in the region to guarantee a swift absolute result. Maybe the US steps in when there is some guarantee the regime will fall?

There also have to be security guarantees for Israel.....

@mids2019 I was unaware that there was a possibility that Iran would permanently ban the internet.

That sounds dystopian and almost unbelievable but I googled it and found it reported in the Guardian today.

For the sake of anyone who can't easily access all the sources we can, this is what the Guardian are reporting:

Iran plans permanent break from global internet, say activists
Report claims unrestricted online access will be a ‘government privilege’, limited to individuals vetted by regime

Iran is planning to permanently break from the global internet, only allowing individuals vetted by the regime to connect online, according to Iranian digital rights activists.

“A confidential plan is under way to turn international internet access into a ‘governmental privilege’,” according to a report from Filterwatch, an organisation monitoring Iran’s internet censorship, citing a number of sources in Iran.

“State media and government spokespersons have already signaled that this is a permanent shift, warning that unrestricted access will not return after 2026.”

Under the plan, Iranians who had security clearance or passed government checks would have access to a filtered version of the global internet, said Amir Rashidi, the leader of Filterwatch. All other Iranians would be allowed to access only the national internet: a domestic, parallel internet cut off from the broader world.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/17/iran-plans-permanent-break-from-global-internet-say-activists

"Under the plan, Iranians who had security clearance or passed government checks would have access to a filtered version of the global internet, said Amir Rashidi, the leader of Filterwatch. All other Iranians would be allowed to access only the national internet: a domestic, parallel internet cut off from the broader world."

Poor Iranians, cut off from the world. Only the regime supporters will be allowed access.

I think one of issues in terms of risk is that the Islamic Republic has always been a destabilising factor in the region and everyone there knows it. And they have been happy for Israel to do their dirty work. The current crisis isnt bringing in a particularly new/bigger risk unless the Americans do something really stupid or some other external factor comes into play. In other words allowing the regime to stay is surely more of a risk than supporting their collapse.

Why don’t they just say aircraft carrier? Surely, what makes it move is irrelevant.

I don't know if this is actually going to happen or not.

Surely if it did it would be economic suicide for Iran so in that sense would actually help with the ending of the regime.

Its the North Korea option basically. All the experts I read think the Islamic Republic is done, question is how it pans out.

I’m a keen plane spotter (along with my brother) living in Norfolk, and this week has seen a marked increase in what you’d call training flights of fighter jets from Lakenheath. They’re up flying in pairs having dogfights both during the day and evenings. There’s also been an increase in refuelling aircraft, a couple travelling over towards eastern regions (Turkey area)

Very interesting @SharonEllis

I tend to read psychological thrillers & murder mysteries so always really appreciate your in depth knowledge of issues in the Middle East.

My sister in law said the same thing actually.

She's a Suffolkbumpkin.

Always talk to people who know more than you, is my approach! Its their in-depth knowledge that I rely on.

I think it is unlikely that the US will attack Iran militarily. This is just posturing. I think the best they can do is continue with the heavy sanctions which will crush their economy and cause the Iranian regime to collapse. Any military action risks retaliation from Iran. They will bomb US bases in the Gulf and close the Strait of Hormuz which will spike oil prices. Trump is crazy, but I don’t think he’s that crazy.

Those that regularly watch these things and comment online noted a few days back that the US carrier groups were not distributed in their normal manner, probably because of the Venezuela operation.

For some time now they've usually had a group in the Persian Gulf or Arabian Sea, there isn't one ATM so the move of the USS Abraham Lincoln into the region in a way restores recent normality for the USN...

As far as the air activity it's hard to read. For a long time now the USAF have regularly deployed some of their stateside assets to UK bases for shortish periods for exercise purposes, what we're seeing now might just be routine.

Amid Iran tensions, US announces multi-day military drill in Middle East.

Times of Israel: The US announced on Tuesday that it was conducting an aerial military exercise in the Middle East, amid ongoing tensions with Iran.

The US Ninth Air Force ( also known as AFCENT) will be conducting a “multi day readiness exercise to demonstrate the ability to destroy, disperse and sustain combat airpower across the US Central Command area of responsibility”, AFCENT said.

The drill came a day after the CENTCOM (US Central Command) announced that the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier & accompanying warships had arrived in the Middle East.

The strike group’s arrival boosts the US’s available firepower & defensive capabilities in the region, giving Trump the option to launch an attack on Iran.

Nuclear powered. Doesn’t mean it carries nuclear weapons (though it may do, I don’t know)

Fair point but the fact of the USS Abraham Lincoln being moved to the ME may prove to be significant.

It’s there to attack Iran.