US National Security Adviser John Bolton said earlier that the US was deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force near Iran as “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”.
“Expect more sanctions soon. Very soon”, Tim Morrison, special assistant to the president and senior director for weapons of mass destruction and biodefense, has stated, as Tehran earlier announced it was scaling back some curbs placed on its nuclear programme.
Prior to this, the United States announced plans to deploy a carrier strike group to the Middle East in order to send a warning to Iran in response to alleged troubling indications and escalatory activities.