US aircraft carrier, bombers and fighters flex their muscles near Iran
SUMMARY
The US Navy carrier strike group and US Air Force bombers deployed to the Middle East to counter Iran conducted simulated strike drills near Iran as tensions between Washington and Tehran remain high.
The US began deploying numerous troops and military assets to the US Central Command area of responsibility May 2019 in response to intelligence indicating that Iran was plotting attacks on US interests in the region.
The exact nature of the threat posed by Iran and its proxies is unclear, although Vice Adm. Michael Gilday recently told reporters at the Pentagon that the Iranian leadership has repeatedly made threats backed up by changes in their force posture.
Furthermore, there have been a string of attacks in recent weeks — including attacks on tankers in UAE waters, a drone strike on a Saudi pipeline, and a rocket attack in the Green Zone in Iraq — that have reinforced the US military's view that Iran is involved in or plotting nefarious activities.
A bomber with fighter escorts fly above the USS Abraham Lincoln.
(US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Brian M. Wilbur)
B-52H Stratofortress bomber escorted by F/A-18E Super Hornets.
(US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Brian M. Wilbur)
Bombers and fighters supported by an early warning aircraft fly above the USS Abraham Lincoln.
(US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Amber Smalley)
Fighters and bombers fly over the Arabian Sea during combined arms exercises.
(US Navy photo by Lt. Brad Kerr)
F/A-18E Super Hornet on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln.
(US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Matt Herbst)
This article originally appeared on Business Insider. Follow @BusinessInsider on Twitter.