The U.S. Defense Department has announced that the deployment of a Patriot missile battery and an additional warship to the Persian Gulf as tensions between Iran and America ramp up over Pentagon allegations that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was planning an attack on American forces or interests in the region.
The United States removed Patriot missile batteries from Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan in late 2018.
The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group is now in the Red Sea, having been moved to the region earlier this week after U.S. officials said Iran had moved short-range ballistic missiles onto boats on its shore.
On Friday, the Pentagon said the transport ship USS Arlington would replace the USS McHenry in the region ahead of schedule.
The 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit will also be dispatched. The destroyer USS McFaul and ammunition ship USNS Alan Shepard have been moved from the Red Sea to the Strait of Hormuz, two B-52 bombers have arrived in Qatar, and several U.S. F-35 fighter jets have been sent to the UAE.