US Carrier Strike Group Sent to Middle East in ‘Message’ to Iran

Bolton: Iran threats to US interests will face 'unrelenting force'

John Bolton issued a statement on Sunday announcing the deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln’s Carrier Strike Group to the Middle East, saying it was a “clear and unmistakable message” to Iran.

Which is to say that Bolton intends the deployment to be perceived as a threat, saying any Iranian threats against US interests, or the interests of US allies “will be met with unrelenting force.”

The US Navy offered a very different take on the matter, saying that the deployment was simply “a regularly scheduled deployment,” as opposed to some sudden dispatch of US forces to threaten to attack Iran.

Bolton, of course, does not need an excuse to threaten to attack Iran, or anybody else across the world. The timing is a bit awkward, as it comes amid US threats to also attack Venezuela, another threatened war that Bolton is taking the lead in pushing.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.