WASHINGTON – Middle East is on edge as Tehran responds aggressively to the unprecedented US military buildup. The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, accompanied by multiple destroyers and warplanes, is set to arrive in the region in the coming days, Reuters reports, citing US officials.
US President Donald Trump confirmed that “massive force” is moving toward Iran, warning, “I’d rather not see anything happen, but we will see. We have an armada heading in that direction, and maybe we will not have to use it.” The strike group has been redeployed from the Asia-Pacific even as Trump publicly emphasizes talks after Iran’s brutal crackdown on protests, which left thousands dead.
In Tehran, the response has been fierce and defiant. Yahya Rahim Safavi, former Revolutionary Guard commander and adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, declared, “We are preparing for a decisive war with Israel. We possess weapons no one else has. The next war will end this conflict once and for all.”
Ali Abdollahi, another senior commander, warned that any attack on Iran would make US bases and interests “legitimate and accessible targets.” Revolutionary Guards Commander Mohammad Pakpour added that Iran is prepared for all scenarios, “including an all-out war.”
Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused US of instigating unrest and warned that a full-scale confrontation would be “messy, ferocious, and far longer” than Israel or its allies anticipate.
Meanwhile, Trump’s statements also confused Iran. Earlier this week, POTUS said he stopped a strike after Iran reportedly canceled plans to execute hundreds of detainees. “Iran does want to talk, and we’ll talk,” he said at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Yet aboard Air Force One hours later, he reminded reporters that military action remains an option.
As Washington gave mix signals, Iran appears determined to draw its own conclusions, perhaps influenced by last year’s Israeli strikes during US-Iran negotiations. The region now faces a perilous standoff, with the potential for a conflict that could reshape the Middle East.
‘Any Attack on Khamenei will be treated as War against Iran’, warns President
