The USS Lincoln aircraft carrier is one of several ships thought to be headed towards the Middle East
21:29, Sun, Jan 25, 2026 Updated: 21:44, Sun, Jan 25, 2026
The USS Abraham Lincoln was moved away from the South China Sea towards Iran (Image: Getty)
One of the US’s largest aircraft carriers has reportedly been moved to within striking distance of Iran as tensions with the US reach boiling point. The USS Lincoln has arrived in the Middle East in preparation for a possible military campaign and to bolster Israel's defence against an attack, Israeli news channel 13 reports.
The giant ship was originally stationed in the South China Sea, but changed course after tensions between Iran and the US. America is also thought to be moving a specialist missile defence ship into the region alongside its THAAD air defence system with all expected to arrive in the region in the coming days. This build-up mirrors a US military manoeuvre that came days before its strikes against nuclear sites in Iran during the 12-day war with Tehran last June.
The USS Abraham Lincoln will be joined by several other US ships (Image: Getty)
In that attack, US forces reportedly launched 30 Tomahawk missiles from submarines and carried out strikes with B-2 bombers, devastating many of the sites.
President Donald Trump backed anti-government protesters in Iran, even claiming that “Help is on its way,” but since the demonstrations were quashed, he has been less vocal.
On the latest military move, the president added: “We’re watching Iran. We have a big force going towards Iran.
“And maybe we won’t have to use it. … We have a lot of ships going that direction. Just in case, we have a big flotilla going in that direction, and we’ll see what happens.”
Trump didn't rule out using force against Iran (Image: Getty)
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Trump’s demands to Tehran have yet to be revealed, but asked earlier in the week if he wanted Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to step down, Trump answered: “I don’t want to get into that, but they know what we want. There is a lot of killing.”
However, Iran has warned of retaliation should the US attack Iranian territory. On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in The Wall Street Journal newspaper, warning Iran would be “firing back with everything we have.”
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Araghchi added: “An all-out confrontation will certainly be ferocious and drag on far, far longer than the fantasy timelines that Israel and its proxies are trying to peddle to the White House.”
The USS Abraham Lincoln is a nuclear-powered supercarrier which typically carries between 60 to 90 aircraft on board.
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English (US) · 