US President Donald Trump has launched a direct threat against Iran, occurring just as the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group enters the US Central Command area of operations in the Indian Ocean.
Writing on Truth Social, Trump warned Tehran that any future US military strike would be "much worse" than that of June 2025. This warning comes as the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier remains positioned in the Middle East, within striking distance of Iranian territory.
"A massive Armada is heading toward Iran. It is moving fast, with great strength, enthusiasm, and purpose. It is a larger fleet, led by the great carrier Abraham Lincoln, than the one sent to Venezuela. As with Venezuela, it is ready, willing, and able to fulfill its mission quickly, with speed and violence, if necessary. Let's hope Iran 'comes to the table' quickly and negotiates a fair and equal deal - NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS - a deal that will be good for all parties. Time is running out, it is truly of the essence! As I told Iran once, MAKE A DEAL! They didn't, and there was 'Operation Midnight,' a great disaster for Iran. The next attack will be much worse! Don't let it happen again," the US President emphasized in his post.
The American president has so far refused to rule out the possibility of US military intervention in Iran following the harsh suppression of mass protests in which, according to human rights organizations, thousands were killed. According to administration sources who spoke to Axios on condition of anonymity, Trump has not yet made a final decision. According to the same sources, additional military options are expected to be presented to the Republican leader by his security advisors within the week. The arrival of the aircraft carrier and its strike force in the region provides both defensive and offensive capabilities should he decide to order a military operation, the Wall Street Journal noted.
"The largest warship in the world"
The USS Abraham Lincoln is one of the nuclear-powered American aircraft carriers that the Navy refers to as "the largest warships in the world." It belongs to the ten nuclear-powered carriers known as the Nimitz class. Nimitz-class carriers are 333 meters long and can carry approximately 100,000 tons of equipment, including 65 aircraft and multiple missile launchers, according to the US Navy. The carrier supports aircraft capable of striking both aerial and coastal targets. Its squadrons include the F-35 Lightning II and F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters, according to the Associated Press.
The ship also participates in maritime security operations that "intercept threats against commercial shipping and prevent the use of the seas for terrorism and piracy," the US Navy stated. Nimitz-class carriers may also be equipped with various types of missiles, including the NATO Sea Sparrow, an anti-missile and anti-aircraft weapon system. Such a projectile is likely aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. Carriers often feature two types of anti-ship systems: the Phalanx/CIWS, a rapid-fire, computer-controlled radar-guided gun, and the RAM missile system, a supersonic, lightweight fire-and-forget weapon, according to manufacturer RTX, formerly Raytheon.
The USS Abraham Lincoln may carry additional weapons, according to the military database Command: Modern Operations. These include the AN/SLQ-25A Nixie, a decoy system that emits sounds to fool underwater torpedoes into not following the ship. The vessel is equipped with various radar systems that assist in detecting and tracking nearby threats, monitoring air traffic, and guiding missile launches, according to Naval Technology, which reported it also carries two SH-60 Seahawk attack helicopters across nine squadrons. The USS Abraham Lincoln can sail at speeds of up to 35 knots (65 kilometers per hour) and carries an average crew of 5,600 people.
"You will pay a heavy price if you attack" – Iran responds to Trump's threats
Any military action against Iran will result in significant losses for the United States, warned Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, Deputy Chief of the Iranian Army for Coordination, responding to Donald Trump’s threats. "We possess the capabilities to strike the enemy, and they clearly understand that any attack will come at a heavy cost," Sayyari stated, according to the Fars news agency.
American show of force, Iranian readiness
According to the Iranian official, the United States is attempting to intimidate Tehran by announcing the deployment of significant military forces to the Middle East. Nevertheless, he stressed that the Iranian military is "fully prepared to defend the country's territorial integrity, its independence, and its political system."
Scenario of chaos – Israel seeks to fragment Iran through the US
Israel will do everything possible to "Balkanize" Iran via the United States, fragmenting the country and achieving regime change through various methods, said Lana Ravandi-Fadai, head of the Eastern Cultural Center at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. "The situation in Iran is truly serious. Israel, through the United States, will do everything in its power to balkanize Iran," she noted during a discussion at the Valdai Club in Moscow titled "The international situation around Iran: trends and risks."
According to her, "perhaps it is not as important for them to install a puppet that serves US and Israeli interests as it is to dismantle Iran" and achieve a transfer of power through various methods. "They will do everything for this," Ravandi-Fadai emphasizes. However, she noted that "for the moment, the issue of a US invasion of Iran is not on the table; this is felt even by the change in rhetoric in Washington regarding Iran."
"Regarding the military power surrounding Iran, I do not believe this necessarily means that Trump is ready to go further and actually start a war. Iran is now prepared to respond much more dynamically than ever before. Furthermore, it is characterized by its ability to mobilize aggressively when the survival of the state is at stake, in order to prevent its collapse," she estimates.
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