Khaberni - Informed sources told "ABC" network that the US Department of Defense (the Pentagon) is considering sending an additional aircraft carrier to the Middle East, to provide President Donald Trump with broader options in the confrontation with tensions in Iran.
It was expected, according to the American newspaper, that the Pentagon would send additional military assets to the Middle East in the coming days, according to several people familiar with the discussions, including the possibility of deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group.
This move is a customary precaution in times of rising tension, given that about 30,000 US soldiers are deployed across the region in countries such as Qatar, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq.
The newspaper stated that this additional firepower could serve as a deterrent against potential attacks by adversaries on US bases, and it would also provide President Trump with additional options to strike Iran later if he chooses to do so.
The assets that could be added to bolster the region, according to the newspaper, include an aircraft carrier accompanied by cruisers and missile destroyers, in addition to squadrons of Air Force fighters, ground-based air and missile defense systems.
Fears of retaliatory response
The discussions of sending these additional military assets come at a time when Trump threatened to attack the Iranian government over violent clashes with protesters, and officials in Tehran responded with threats to strike US bases if he carried out his threats.
According to a person familiar with the discussions this week, Trump was informed that launching a military strike against Iran could be extremely risky and could endanger the lives of American service members in the region, especially if the government in Tehran felt it was about to collapse.
Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he had decided not to carry out strikes at the present time because the United States was informed "from reliable sources" that the killing of protesters in Iran had stopped, as he also said on Friday that 800 planned executions in Iran had been stopped, which was denied by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday, in an interview with Fox News.
Several sources said there are concerns that the necessary assets to protect against an Iranian retaliatory strike are not currently available to the military, especially after Trump moved a significant portion of military forces to the Caribbean to support the operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
