WASHINGTON -- The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and three accompanying warships have arrived in the Middle East, bringing a renewed potential that President Donald Trump could opt to order airstrikes on Iran over its crackdown on protesters.

The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group is now in the Indian Ocean, putting it closer to assist in any potential US operations targeting Iran, two sources told CNN.

Patriot missiles, THAAD batteries, carrier strike group among latest deployments to region as Washington-Tehran tensions remain high, according to several US media outlets - Anadolu Ajansı

US military's CENTCOM launches air exercise as Washington shifts significant forces to region to allow possible strike on Iran after bloody crackdown on anti-regime protesters The post Amid Iran tensions,

US-Iran tensions escalate as the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group arrives in the Middle East, a deployment linked to severe internal unrest and anti-government protests within Iran