John Bolton is going to war. USS Abraham Lincoln sent as a warning

(B2) The United States announced it on Sunday (May 5) with fanfare. They are determined to bring Iran to its knees. Message signed by John Bolton

They will deploy a carrier strike group consisting of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and a bomber air force in the Central Command region. It's a " response to a number of worrying and escalating indications and warnings » says the US national security adviser in a communicated.

A clear message to the Iranian government

It's about " to send a clear and unequivocal message to the Iranian regime that any attack on the interests of the United States or those of our allies will be met with implacable forcee ". The warning is intended to be clear to all Iranian forces. “ The United States does not seek 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. »

A carrier group present in the Mediterranean for a NATO exercise

The carrier group (CSG 12 or Carrier Strike Group 12) is normally composed, on the ships side, of theUSS Bainbridge (DDG-96),USS Mason (DDG-87),USS Nitze (DDG-94), with the contribution of the Spanish frigate ESPS Mendez Nunez (F-104), as specified by the HQ of the US 6th Fleet. On the aircraft side, it’s the CAW7 – Carrier Air Wing 7 - made up of Super Hornet F/A-18 who arms the group.

NATO exercise and naval diplomacy

THEUSS Abraham Lincoln was in the Mediterranean, until recently as part of an exercise Offshore, started on April 29 and scheduled to run until May 10 (1). He also carried out several port visits, notably on May 3 in Albania with a visit by officials on board.

A deployment already planned?

In fact, it seems that the deployment of the carrier battle group is a bit of posturing since its roadmap already indicated that it was going to join the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean… Simply the deployment was a little anticipated. The art of turning an ordinary deployment into an aggressive political communication operation...

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)

(1) An exercise considered the most ambitious of the Italian Navy, with 40 participating ships, 5 submarines and 30 aircraft.