The US on Wednesday stoked fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East by redirecting the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group to the Middle East. The carrier is reportedly on the move and will take atleast a week to reach the Middle Eastern waters at typical cruising speeds.
"The US is moving a carrier strike group from the South China Sea to the CENTCOM area of responsibility," Kellie Meyer, a NewsNation reporter, posted on X. CENTCOM’s “area of responsibility” covers over 4 million square miles, spanning Northeast Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia. It encompasses 21 countries such as Egypt, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan.
A carrier strike group is a naval formation centered around an aircraft carrier, with a variety of other vessels, including three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and an attack submarine, in this case.
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This significant military decision comes as US President Donald Trump threatened the Iranian regime to stop firing at protesters, stating the US military was “locked and loaded” to hit Iran.
🚨 BREAKING — HAPPENING NOW:
— Ian Miles Cheong (@ianmiles) January 15, 2026
The United States is rapidly redeploying the entire USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group out of the South China Sea and steaming full speed toward the Middle East as the U.S. prepares to unleash major strikes on Iran. pic.twitter.com/16XDQNI78q
The movement also comes in the wake of Iran issuing “Notice to Air Missions,” or NOTAM, on Monday, a temporary closure of its airspace to most flights. This was revoked hours later. However, the reports are that the US has asked its personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar to evacuate by Wednesday evening.
At present, there is no US carrier strike group in the Middle East though the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group had been conducting routine operations, including F-35C flight ops and live-fire drills in the South China Sea.
According to military watchers, the move is to prepare for potentially sustained operations rather than a limited strike, considering the US can always deploy long-range B-2 bombers from the U.S. mainland, like it did last year, and Tomahawk-equipped destroyers in the Persian Gulf, to hit Iran.
“You don’t reposition a full carrier strike group from the Indo-Pacific for a one-night symbolic operation,” one defense source told VINnews. “This signals readiness for prolonged presence and follow-on capability if required”.
