Bolton says US deploying carrier strike group, bomber task force to thwart Iran

WASHINGTON -- US National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Sunday that his country is deploying a carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the Middle East to thwart the threat from Iran.

"In response to a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings, the United States is deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force to the US Central Command region," Bolton said in a statement issued by the White House.

The deployment aims "to send 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," he added.

Following the exit from the Iran nuclear deal in May last year, the Trump administration has kept piling up pressure on Iran through a series of sanctions and designations, which have been strongly opposed and criticized by Tehran.

In November, Washington snapped back sanctions on Iran's banking, energy and shipping industries, while granting 180-day waivers to eight of Iran's major oil buyers, including South Korea, Japan and Turkey.

On April 22, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the US sanctions will be reimposed on all countries that import oil from Iran since May 2.