The U.S. military announced that the aircraft carrier "USS Abraham Lincoln" and its accompanying destroyers have arrived in the Middle East after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered this naval strike group to expedite its transition to the region. This increases the number of U.S. aircraft carriers currently in the Middle East to at least two, at least temporarily, as concerns rise over a potential military escalation in the region.
Tensions in the Middle East have heightened since Israel assassinated Hezbollah military leader Fouad Shoukair in an airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, and the killing of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in an assassination that took place in Tehran, with Iran accusing Israel of being behind it.
The Lincoln is expected to replace the aircraft carrier "USS Theodore Roosevelt." On Wednesday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) issued a statement saying that "the USS Abraham Lincoln, equipped with F-35C and F/A-18 Block 3 fighters, has entered CENTCOM's area of responsibility." It added that Lincoln "is the flagship of the third aircraft carrier strike group, accompanied by Destroyer Squadron 21 and the ninth carrier air wing."
The U.S. Department of Defense (Pentagon) had previously announced that Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the Lincoln to "expedite its transition" to the Middle East, having earlier directed for its deployment to the region at the beginning of the month. Concerns of a significant military escalation in the area have increased following Hezbollah and its ally Iran’s threats to respond to the assassinations that occurred in the southern suburbs of Beirut and Tehran at the end of July, just hours apart.
