WASHINGTON - A White House decision to dispatch an aircraft carrier and other military resources to send a message to Iran followed “clear indications” that Iranian and Iranian proxy forces were preparing to possibly attack U.S. forces in the region, a defense official told the Associated Press.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information, said the Pentagon approved the deployments and that U.S. forces at sea and on land were thought to be the potential targets. The official declined to be more specific.

White House national security adviser John Bolton said in a statement Sunday night that the U.S. is deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force to the U.S. Central Command region, an area that includes the Middle East.

Bolton said the move was in response to “a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings.” He didn’t provide details, but said the U.S. wants to send a message that “unrelenting force” will meet any attack on U.S. interests or those of its allies.

“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,” he said.

The Pentagon had no immediate comment on the Bolton statement.

The Abraham Lincoln and its strike group of ships and combat aircraft have been operating in the Mediterranean Sea recently. Last Wednesday a group of senior Albanian government officials visited aboard the Lincoln as it sailed in the Adriatic.

Bolton’s reference to the Central Command area would mean the Lincoln is headed east to the Red Sea and perhaps then to the Arabian Sea or the Persian Gulf. The U.S. Navy currently has no aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf.

Bolton’s mention of deploying a bomber task force suggests the Pentagon is deploying land-based bomber aircraft somewhere in the region, perhaps on the Arabian Peninsula.

Speaking to reporters while flying to Europe, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the actions undertaken by the U.S. had been in the works for a little while.

“It is absolutely the case that we have seen escalatory actions from the Iranians and it is equally the case that we will hold the Iranians accountable for attacks on American interests,” Pompeo said. “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.”

Asked about “escalatory actions,” Pompeo replied, “I don’t want to talk about what underlays it, but make no mistake, we have good reason to want to communicate clearly about how the Iranians should understand how we will respond to actions they may take.”

Asked if the Iranian action were related to the deadly events in Gaza and Israel — militants fired rockets into Israel on Sunday and Israel responded with airstrikes — Pompeo said, “It is separate from that.”

The Trump administration has been intensifying a pressure campaign against Iran.

Last month, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. will no longer exempt any countries from U.S. sanctions if they continue to buy Iranian oil, a decision that primarily affects the five remaining major importers: China and India and U.S. treaty allies Japan, South Korea and Turkey.

The U.S. also recently designated Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group, the first ever for an entire division of another government.

Trump withdrew from the Obama administration’s landmark nuclear deal with Iran in May 2018 and, in the months that followed, reimposed punishing sanctions including those targeting Iran’s oil, shipping and banking sectors.

Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have in recent months spoken stridently about Iran and its “malign activities” in the region.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on the United States and Iran (all times local):

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the Trump administration is intensifying pressure to "get Iran to behave like a normal nation."

Pompeo spoke to reporters Monday in Finland following the administration's decision to move an aircraft carrier group ahead of schedule to the Middle East from the Mediterranean in response to what it said were threats of a possible attack on U.S. or allied interests by Iran. The larger pressure campaign has included withdrawing from an Obama-era nuclear deal, reimposing sanctions and designating the Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization.

The secretary said the measures are intended to stop Iran from a range of activities that include sponsoring terrorist organizations that launch missile attacks on Israel or building missile systems in Yemen to assist rebels in that country's civil war.

"Our objective is to get the Islamic Republic of Iran to behave like a normal nation," he said. "When they do that, we will welcome them back."

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan says the accelerated deployment of a U.S. aircraft carrier group and some bombers to the Middle East is "prudent repositioning" of assets in response to what he said were indications of a credible threat from Iran.

Shanahan says in a tweet Monday that the U.S. will hold Tehran accountable for any attacks on U.S. forces or interests. And he is calling on Iran to "cease all provocation."

The U.S. has ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group to move to the Middle East about two weeks ahead of schedule. The ships have been in the Mediterranean Sea and had planned to stop for a port visit in Croatia, but that has been canceled.

National security adviser John Bolton said Sunday night that the U.S. was deploying the ships and a bomber task force to the region, intending to send a message that "unrelenting force" will meet any attack on American forces or allies.

The U.S. is rushing an aircraft carrier and other military resources to the Middle East after seeing Iranian troops and proxy forces making preparations for attacks against U.S. forces and interests in the region, a defense official told The Associated Press.

At the White House, National Security Adviser John Bolton said Sunday night that the U.S. was deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force to the U.S. Central Command region, an area that includes the Middle East. In a statement, he said the move was in response to "a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings," but did not provide more details.

The request would get the ships into the region two weeks earlier than initially planned, according to the defense official, who wasn't authorized to speak publicly so spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The Abraham Lincoln and its strike group of ships and combat aircraft have been operating in the Mediterranean Sea recently. Bolton's reference to the Central Command area would mean the Lincoln is headed east to the Red Sea and perhaps then to the Arabian Sea or the Persian Gulf, which would take several days. </s> The United States is sending a carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the Middle East to send a "clear and unmistakable message" to Iran, President Donald Trump's national security adviser announced Sunday night.

While John Bolton said the U.S. wasn't seeking to go to war with Iran, "we are fully prepared to respond to any attack, whether by proxy, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or regular Iranian forces."

He added: "Any attack on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force."

Bolton said the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and an unspecified bomber task force were being sent to U.S. Central Command's region of responsibility, which covers the Middle East. According to the Navy, the strike group left Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, on April 1 on a regularly scheduled deployment.

The strike group consists of the Abraham Lincoln, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier; the USS Leyte Gulf, a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser; Carrier Air Wing Seven; and destroyers from Destroyer Squadron Two.

In a brief statement, Bolton didn't say what specific actions or provocations the United States was responding to.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also declined to cite specifics, saying Sunday night that the move was unrelated to the deadly violence over the weekend in the Gaza Strip, where Iran is widely reported to fund Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

"It's something we’ve been working on for a little while," Pompeo told reporters aboard his flight to Europe.

"It is absolutely the case that we have seen escalatory actions from the Iranians, and it is equally the case that we will hold the Iranians accountable for attacks on American interests," he said. "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."

The announcement comes two days after the Trump administration imposed new limits on Iran's nuclear activities. Trump said last month that the United States would no longer exempt any nation from U.S. sanctions if it buys Iranian oil.

NBC News has previously reported that Bolton, who has long been considered a hawk on Iran, has clashed with officials at the State Department who favor maintaining all of the waivers.

Last month, the Trump administration designated the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization, the first time the United States has placed the designation on part of another country's government. The designation categorizes Iran's military alongside groups like ISIS, al Qaeda, Hezbollah and Hamas. </s> WASHINGTON — The U.S. is rushing an aircraft carrier and other military resources to the Middle East after seeing Iranian troops and proxy forces making preparations for attacks against U.S. forces and interests in the region, a defense official told The Associated Press.

At the White House, National Security Adviser John Bolton said Sunday night that the U.S. was deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force to the U.S. Central Command region, an area that includes the Middle East. In a statement, he said the move was in response to "a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings," but did not provide more details.

The request would get the ships into the region two weeks earlier than initially planned, according to the defense official, who wasn't authorized to speak publicly so spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The Abraham Lincoln and its strike group of ships and combat aircraft have been operating in the Mediterranean Sea recently. Bolton's reference to the Central Command area would mean the Lincoln is headed east to the Red Sea and perhaps then to the Arabian Sea or the Persian Gulf, which would take several days.

For years, the U.S. maintained a carrier presence in the Persian Gulf and Middle East region. During the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there were two carriers in the area, but that was reduced to one.

Last year the administration decided to end the continuous carrier presence, and only send a strike group intermittently into the region. The U.S. Navy currently has no aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf.

Bolton said the U.S. wants to send a message that "unrelenting force" will meet any attack on U.S. interests or those of America's allies.

"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," he said.

Along with the Lincoln, Bolton mentioned "a bomber task force," which suggested the Pentagon is deploying land-based bomber aircraft somewhere in the region, perhaps on the Arabian Peninsula.

Speaking to reporters while flying to Europe, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the actions undertaken by the U.S. had been in the works for a little while.

"It is absolutely the case that we have seen escalatory actions from the Iranians and it is equally the case that we will hold the Iranians accountable for attacks on American interests," Pompeo said. "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."

Asked about "escalatory actions," Pompeo replied, "I don't want to talk about what underlays it, but make no mistake, we have good reason to want to communicate clearly about how the Iranians should understand how we will respond to actions they may take."

Asked if the Iranian action were related to the deadly events in Gaza and Israel — militants fired rockets into Israel on Sunday and Israel responded with airstrikes — Pompeo said, "It is separate from that."

The Trump administration has been intensifying a pressure campaign against Iran.

Last month, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. will no longer exempt any countries from U.S. sanctions if they continue to buy Iranian oil, a decision that primarily affects the five remaining major importers: China and India and U.S. treaty allies Japan, South Korea and Turkey.

The U.S. also recently designated Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group, the first ever for an entire division of another government.

Trump withdrew from the Obama administration's landmark nuclear deal with Iran in May 2018 and in the months that followed, reimposed punishing sanctions including those targeting Iran's oil, shipping and banking sectors.

Bolton and Pompeo have in recent months spoken stridently about Iran and its "malign activities" in the region. </s> WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. is sending an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East ahead of schedule and warning that Iran and its proxy forces are showing "troubling and escalatory" indications of a possible attack on American forces in the region.

Exactly what prompted the action is unclear, but it's a further step in sharply rising tensions between the Trump administration and the Islamic Republic.

National Security Adviser John Bolton said Sunday night that the U.S. was deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force to the Middle East, intending to send a message that "unrelenting force" will meet any attack on American forces or allies.

"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," he said.

Neither Bolton nor other officials would provide any details about the supposed threat, which comes as the Trump administration wages what it has called a "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran and nearly a year to the day after it withdrew from an Obama-era nuclear deal with Tehran.

The request would get the Abraham Lincoln carrier group into the Middle East about two weeks earlier than initially planned following exercises in the Mediterranean region, according to the defense official, who spoke on wasn't authorized to speak publicly so spoke on the condition of anonymity.

For years, the U.S. maintained a carrier presence in the Persian Gulf and Middle East region. During the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there were two carriers in the area, but that was reduced to one.

Last year the administration decided to end the continuous carrier presence, and only send a strike group intermittently into the region. The U.S. Navy currently has no aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf.

Bolton said the U.S. wants to send a message that "unrelenting force" will meet any attack on U.S. interests or those of America's allies.

"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," he said.

Along with the Lincoln, Bolton mentioned "a bomber task force," which suggested the Pentagon is deploying land-based bomber aircraft somewhere in the region, perhaps on the Arabian Peninsula.

Speaking to reporters while flying to Europe, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the actions undertaken by the U.S. had been in the works for a little while.

"It is absolutely the case that we have seen escalatory actions from the Iranians and it is equally the case that we will hold the Iranians accountable for attacks on American interests," Pompeo said. "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."

Asked about "escalatory actions," Pompeo replied, "I don't want to talk about what underlays it, but make no mistake, we have good reason to want to communicate clearly about how the Iranians should understand how we will respond to actions they may take."

Asked if the Iranian action were related to the deadly events in Gaza and Israel - militants fired rockets into Israel on Sunday and Israel responded with airstrikes - Pompeo said, "It is separate from that."

The Trump administration has been intensifying a pressure campaign against Iran.

Last month, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. will no longer exempt any countries from U.S. sanctions if they continue to buy Iranian oil, a decision that primarily affects the five remaining major importers: China and India and U.S. treaty allies Japan, South Korea and Turkey.

The U.S. also recently designated Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group, the first ever for an entire division of another government.

Trump withdrew from the Obama administration's landmark nuclear deal with Iran in May 2018 and in the months that followed, reimposed punishing sanctions including those targeting Iran's oil, shipping and banking sectors.

Bolton and Pompeo have in recent months spoken stridently about Iran and its "malign activities" in the region.

Associated Press writers Robert Burns and Matthew Lee contributed to this report. </s> BRUSSELS – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo crashed a meeting of European foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday to push for a united transatlantic front against Tehran and its nuclear program. But he failed to bend attitudes among leaders who fear the United States and Iran are inching toward war.

Pompeo’s last-minute decision to visit the EU capital, announced as he boarded a plane from the United States, set up a confrontation between the U.S. secretary and European diplomats who have been scrambling to save the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. At least one, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, said he feared that unintentional escalation from the United States and Iran could spark a conflict – an unusually bold statement that appeared to assign equal culpability to Washington and Tehran.

The visit came on a day that the Saudi Foreign Ministry said two of its oil tankers were attacked and damaged off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia did not assign blame for the attack, but the announcement contributed to fears of open aggression in the region.

Pompeo was rebuffed on even some basic requests in Brussels. European diplomats haggled over how much to accomodate him while his plane sped across the Atlantic. The European Union’s chief diplomat, Federica Mogherini, coolly announced she had a busy day and that the pair would talk “if we manage to arrange a meeting.” (She found the time.) The top diplomats of Britain, France and Germany agreed to meet one-on-one with Pompeo but would not allow the Americans the symbolic victory of a group meeting. (The Europeans – they’re diplomats, after all – blamed the decision on scheduling difficulties.)

The Trump administration has called for “maximum pressure” against Iran. Mogherini reached for a different extreme after meeting with Pompeo.

“The most responsible attitude to take,” Mogherini said, “should be that of maximum restraint and avoiding any escalation on the military side.”

“We agree on much more than we disagree. That continues to be the case,” said Pompeo’s top Iran adviser, Brian Hook. “We share the same threat assessment. We are very concerned about Iran’s – a lot of the multiple threat streams that have been reported over the last three or four days.”

But the Europeans said they are fearful about the behavior of both Iran and the Trump administration.

“We are very worried about the risk of a conflict happening by accident, with an escalation that is unintended really on either side,” said Hunt, the British foreign secretary. “Most of all, we need to make sure we don’t end up putting Iran back on the path to renuclearization. Because if Iran becomes a nuclear power, its neighbors are likely to want to become nuclear powers. This is already the most unstable region in the world, and this would be a massive step in the wrong direction.”

Iranian leaders announced last week that they would scale back their cooperation under the agreement, in essence forcing Europe to choose between defying Washington or kissing the nuclear deal goodbye. Europe considers the deal key to preventing a nuclear-armed Iran. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the deal in May 2018.

Pompeo scrapped a day of mostly ceremonial events in Moscow on Monday in favor of the Brussels stopover. He plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Tuesday.

Diplomats familiar with Pompeo’s conversations in Brussels said little new ground was covered, with each side repeating standard talking points about whether or not the nuclear deal is worth preserving

“I once again made it clear that we are concerned about developments and tensions in the region,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said after meeting with Pompeo.

The United States has bolstered its firepower in the Middle East in the past week, warning of imminent and direct threats from Iran to U.S. troops in Iraq and elsewhere. EU foreign ministers had planned to focus on other topics at Monday’s meeting. But with both Iran and the United States quickly ramping up bellicose rhetoric, the issue took center stage.

European leaders agree with the United States that Iran’s developing ballistic missile program and its belligerent behavior are problematic. But they differ about whether that means that the separate nuclear deal – a key part of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy legacy – should be scrapped.

“The American position to increase pressure and sanctions doesn’t suit us,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Monday ahead of the meeting.

Pompeo had beenscheduled to stop in Moscow on Monday before continuing on to Sochi. The State Department had said he would meet with U.S. Embassy staff members and U.S. business leaders in the Russian capital and lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Kremlin wall.

But the Moscow portion of the visit was canceled in favor of Brussels, the State Department official told reporters shortly before Pompeo took off from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
• As Trump fights with China over trade, US-China economic relationship already being redefined Pompeo is still expected in Sochi on Tuesday, and a wide range of issues will be on the agenda, Russian officials said, including policy in Iran, Ukraine and Venezuela.

Pompeo’s stop in Brussels is his second last-minute schedule change on a European visit this month. On May 7, he canceled a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on a few hours’ notice to travel to Iraq amid rising tensions with Iran.

The Washington Post’s Quentin Ariès in Brussels and Anton Troianovski in Sochi, Russia, contributed to this report. </s> The White House said Sunday that the U.S. is deploying military resources to send a message to Iran.

White House national security adviser John Bolton said in a statement that the U.S. is deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force to the U.S. Central Command region, an area that includes the Middle East.

Bolton said the move was in response to "a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings." He didn't provide details, but said the U.S. wants to send a message that "unrelenting force" will meet any attack on U.S. interests or those of its allies.

"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," he said.

The Pentagon had no immediate comment on the Bolton statement.

The Abraham Lincoln and its strike group of ships and combat aircraft have been operating in the Mediterranean Sea recently. Last Wednesday a group of senior Albanian government officials visited aboard the Lincoln as it sailed in the Adriatic.

Bolton's reference to the Central Command area would mean the Lincoln is headed east to the Red Sea and perhaps then to the Arabian Sea or the Persian Gulf. The U.S. Navy currently has no aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf.

Bolton's mention of deploying a bomber task force suggests the Pentagon is deploying land-based bomber aircraft somewhere in the region, perhaps on the Arabian Peninsula.

The Trump administration has been intensifying a pressure campaign against Iran.

Last month, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. will no longer exempt any countries from U.S. sanctions if they continue to buy Iranian oil, a decision that primarily affects the five remaining major importers: China and India and U.S. treaty allies Japan, South Korea and Turkey.

The U.S. also recently designated Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group, the first ever for an entire division of another government.

Trump withdrew from the Obama administration's landmark nuclear deal with Iran in May 2018 and, in the months that followed, reimposed punishing sanctions including those targeting Iran's oil, shipping and banking sectors.

Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have in recent months spoken stridently about Iran and its "malign activities" in the region. </s> National Security Advisor John Bolton (R) announced a new US military deployment to the Gulf, calling it "a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime" (AFP Photo/Brendan Smialowski)

Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump's order of a US military buildup in the Gulf to counter alleged threats by Iran has many worried about a looming war and others skeptical of Washington's motivations.

- What assets has the US deployed? -

On May 5, Trump's hawkish National Security Advisor John Bolton announced the deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group and a B-52 bomber force to the Gulf.

Days later, the Pentagon added a Patriot missile defense battery and an amphibious assault ship to the deployment

- What is the alleged Iran threat? -

Iran has not made any direct public threats to spark the US deployment. Washington says it acted on intelligence reports of Iranian actions.

Bolton said the aircraft carrier and bomber deployments were "in response to a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings."

On Wednesday, the US was more specific, saying there was an "imminent" threat to US personnel in Iraq from Iraqi militias allegedly controlled by Tehran. The US State Department ordered the partial evacuation of the US embassy in Baghdad and the consulate in Arbil in response.

Analysts in Washington suspect that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps could have been plotting an attack in retaliation for the US declaring it a terrorist organization in April.

Iran subsequently designated all US troops as "terrorists," effectively making them a potential target.

Have there been any incidents?

One. On Monday, Saudi and United Arab Emirates officials said three oil tankers and a barge anchored at Fujairah near the strategically important entrance to the Gulf were damaged in an alleged "sabotage" operation.

But what caused the relatively minor damage to the vessels and who was behind it remains unknown.

- Is the US preparing for war? -

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said it is not. "We fundamentally do not seek a war with Iran," he said Tuesday in Sochi, Russia.

President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday that expects the pressure on Iran will bring it to the negotiating table.

"I'm sure that Iran will want to talk soon," he wrote.

At the same time, The New York Times reported last week that Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan presented the White House with a plan for responding to an Iranian attack that involved sending up to 120,000 American troops to the region.

That is not enough to invade Iran but is enough for an attack from outside its borders.

- What do US allies say? -

Washington's European allies have kept their distance, calling for calm and expressing concern over military escalation.

They fear that more pressure on Tehran will compel it to abrogate the international agreement on its nuclear program, the JCPOA, from which Trump withdrew the United States one year ago.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Berlin "still regards this nuclear agreement as the basis for Iran not having any nuclear weapons in the future, and we regard this as existential for our security."

British, Netherlands and German forces in the international coalition against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria downplayed the immediate threat from Iran.

But Germany and the Netherlands said Wednesday that they were suspending training of soldiers in Iraq due to a "generally heightened" state of alert.

And Spain recalled a frigate accompanying the US carrier task force, explaining that the frigate's mission was not to take part in actual hostilities with Iran. </s> Fears of conflict rose Monday as the United States vowed to send a message to Iran by deploying an aircraft carrier strike group, in a sharp escalation of President Donald Trump's pressure campaign.

John Bolton, Trump's national security advisor who advocated attacking Iran before taking his position, announced late Sunday that the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group would sail to unspecified waters in the vicinity of Iran.

The deployment is aimed at sending "a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime that any attack on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force," Bolton said.

"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."

The USS Abraham Lincoln has previously been deployed to the Gulf, including during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and was the scene of president George W. Bush's later notorious victory speech in front of a banner that read "Mission Accomplished."

The Pentagon had already announced with little fanfare last month that the USS Abraham Lincoln and the rest of its strike group had headed on a "regularly scheduled deployment" out of its base in Norfolk, Virginia.

But Bolton gave the deployment a new urgency as he said that it was in response to "a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings" by Iran.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters he could not elaborate on what those indications were, but said they were separate from a violent flare-up between Israel and Hamas, the Iranian-backed Islamist militant group that runs the Gaza Strip.

Mark Dubowitz, chief executive of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, which advocates a hard line on Iran, said he had heard of a "spike" in intelligence in recent days about planned attacks.

He believed Iran had given the green-light to the missiles out of Gaza by Hamas as allied movement Islamic Jihad.

The strikes sought "to tie down Israeli forces and create a crisis to distract the US and Israel from IRGC plans elsewhere," he said, referring to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards.

Other observers were much more skeptical, believing that Bolton had seized on a routine deployment as a way to pile pressure on Iran.

The statement came almost a year to the date after Trump pulled the United States out of a multinational accord under which Tehran drastically scaled back its sensitive nuclear work.

"I think this is manufactured by Bolton to try to justify the administration's very harsh policy toward Iran despite the fact that Iran has been complying with the nuclear deal," said Barbara Slavin, the director of the Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council think tank.

"Given Bolton's record," she said, "I wouldn't put it past him to try to manufacture a crisis here."

UN inspectors say that Iran has been in compliance with the nuclear deal, which is still backed by European powers as well as Trump's Democratic rivals seeking to unseat him next year.

But Iranians have voiced frustration that they have not seen a promised economic boon, with Trump instead slapping sweeping sanctions on the country.

In recent weeks, the Trump administration has hit even harder, moving to ban all countries from buying Iran's oil, its top export, and declaring the Revolutionary Guards to be a terrorist group -- the first such designation of a unit of a foreign government.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, considered a moderate inside the clerical regime, may announce "retaliatory measures" on Wednesday on the anniversary of the US pullout, the semi-official ISNA news agency said.
United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who originally expected to be in Berlin today, makes an emergency trip to Iraq amid escalating tensions with Iran. Earlier this week, the U.S. deployed a bomber task force and the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group to the region. In today's meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi and President Barham Salih, Pompeo reaffirmed the longstanding U.S. policy to ensure nobody interferes in their country.