US announces multi-day aerial military drills in the Middle East amid Iran tensions

The US has announced plans to hold multi-day military exercises in the Middle East as it deploys what Donald Trump has called an “armada” led by the USS Abraham Lincoln to the region as part of a tense standoff with Iran.The display of US air power was announced as the White House has suggested it could launch new strikes on Iran after the government’s crackdown on pro-democracy protesters that has left thousands dead and many more in detention with their fates uncertain.Air Forces Central, the air component of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), said on Tuesday that it would hold a “multi-day readiness exercise to demonstrate the ability to deploy, disperse and sustain combat airpower across the US Central Command area of responsibility”.The exercise was “designed to enhance asset and personnel dispersal capability, strengthen regional partnerships and prepare for flexible response execution”, Air Forces Central added in a statement.The dates, location and list of US military assets to take part in the exercises has not been made public. But the exercise appeared designed to display the US ability to project force into the region as tensions with Iran have escalated.CENTCOM announced on Monday that a large US naval deployment led by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln had arrived in the region on Monday. The aircraft carrier, which has several dozen fighter jets and nearly 5,000 sailors, was accompanied by several guided missile destroyers that carry air defences to protect the carrier strike group.The US has also moved a squadron of F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets to the region, according to the Washington Post, which come from the same unit that participated in strikes on Iran in April 2024. The UK has also moved Typhoon jets to the region in a “defensive capacity.”It was the first time that an aircraft carrier had been stationed in CENTCOM since the USS Gerald Ford was deployed to the Caribbean in October in the run up to the US operation to remove Venezuela’s strongman leader Nicolás Maduro.The carrier is “is currently deployed to the Middle East to promote regional security and stability”, CENTCOM said in a statement on Monday.Trump in an interview with Axios this week said that the US has a “big armada next to Iran. Bigger than Venezuela”.But he also suggested that the US was open to talks, adding that Iran “wants to make a deal. I know so. They called on numerous occasions. They want to talk”.Trump threatened to attack Iran if the country carries out mass executions or killings of demonstrators during the protests that broke out over the devaluation of Iran’s currency in December. But he later appeared to pull back from that threat, at least temporarily, claiming that “the killing has stopped”.Trump stepped down his rhetoric on launching strikes against Iran earlier this month after he claimed that the country had reversed a decision on hanging 800 detained protesters. But as of last week, he had suggested that strikes could still take place, with the carrier strike group being sent to the region “just in case”.“We have a massive fleet heading in that direction, and maybe we won’t have to use it,” he said.The US-based Human Rights Activists news agency has estimated that nearly 6,000 people have been killed, while the Iranian government has admitted to just over 3,100 deaths.Other activists have estimated more than 30,000 deaths in the government crackdown, but censorship and a nationwide Internet blackout have made details on the scale of the death toll difficult to confirm.CENTCOM has said that it would conduct the drills in partnership with nations in the Middle East and also announced plans to partner with Bahrain in a defensive drill that would include practising capabilities to down drones, a potential counterattack threat in the event of a US attack on Iran.But the deployments have also upset key US allies in the Middle East. The United Arab Emirates foreign ministry has said that it would not allow its airspace, territory or territorial waters to be used for an attack on Iran, saying that it would maintain neutrality and seek to promote regional stability.The US air force would “conduct all activities with host-nation approval and in close coordination with civil and military aviation authorities, emphasising safety, precision and respect for sovereignty”, the statement read.