The Telegraph have also reported today that the Abraham Lincoln and her strike group have just arrived in the vicinity of Iran.
And there’s more. C-17 Globemaster transports and KC-135 tankers have been relocating from bases in the US and UK to key sites such as Al Udeid in Qatar and Muwaffaq Salti in Jordan, transporting advanced defensive systems, including THAAD and Patriot air-defence missile units to protect allied positions. Indicators pointing to imminent action such as aircraft transponders going dark during flights and the positioning of refuelling assets in Europe have been observed.
Britain appears to be preparing to join in, although possibly only defensively. The Royal Air Force has moved four Typhoon jets to Al Udeid and the nuclear powered attack submarine HMS Anson left Gibraltar last week heading eastwards, having reportedly loaded TLAMs during her visit to the Rock. Anson is actually headed for Australia for a spell operating out of Perth as part of the Australia-UK-US Aukus alliance: but she is earlier on that task than anyone was expecting, and it’s quite possible that she might pause on her way to join in the apparently imminent Iran operations.
With the Iranian nuclear programme thoroughly dealt with during Operation Midnight Hammer last June, it would seem as though this time the goal might be to create the conditions for regime change in Iran. The ongoing protests have severely undermined the mullahs’ authority, creating an environment where targeted military action could perhaps topple the government without any ground invasion.
The US and its allies will probably seek to undermine Iran’s economic foundations, exploiting existing fissures, whilst striving to avoid widespread civilian casualties. This could mean strikes on key energy infrastructure, including terminals at Kharg Island and Bandar Abbas, and refineries in Abadan.
Iranian air defences proved largely ineffective against the US and Israelis last year, but they will probably still need to be re-suppressed if non-Stealthy aircraft are to enter hostile airspace. Following initial airstrikes, it’s not inconceivable that there will be small special forces deployments into places like the nuclear site at Fordow – the opportunity to do eyes-on battle damage assessment post last June might be too good to pass up. If regime change is indeed the aim, broader measures such as increased sanctions, cyber disruptions, and support for internal proxies would all be employed, aiming to exacerbate economic pressures and amplify dissent.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01/28/uss-abraham-lincoln-carrier-iran-trump-protests/