The US warship USS Arlington will soon join the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. A Patriot air defense system has also been sent to the area. They are new measures that the United States says they want to prevent Iran from attacking US troops in the area.
The USS Arlington can launch amphibious operations and has four heavy transport helicopters. The USS Abraham Lincoln was sent by the US to the Persian Gulf on May 6, along with some heavy B-52 bombers. These have now arrived at the US military base in Qatar, the Pentagon reports.
Iran does not seem impressed by the American fleet. A senior spiritual leader said Friday that all “billions of dollars” warships can be destroyed with a rocket.
Tensions around the Islamic country have increased in recent days. The United States has indications that Iran wants to attack their interests and allies, but has released little information about this.
The Americans also imposed new sanctions on Iran this week, targeting the country’s aluminum, steel, iron and copper sectors.
In response, the President of Iran decided to partially withdraw his country from the nuclear agreement signed in 2015. That brought him a lot of criticism from the EU.
“Iran will not sell enriched uranium and heavy water (dideuterium oxide) to other countries,” Rouhani wrote. He also threatened to increase the production of enriched uranium if the remaining powers failed to protect Iran against US sanctions within sixty days.
The United States already withdrew from the agreement last year. President Donald Trump’s government says it wants to close a new deal that further restricts Iran’s nuclear program.
About the author: Rick Culpepper
Rick Culpepper is of those journalists who dig the topic to the very bottom. He is often late with the delivery of the piece, but always does it perfectly. In his spare time, he collects data for one of the most high-profile investigations of corruption in the EU.
