US Aircraft Carrier Abraham Lincoln Arrives in the Middle East

Following the order of the United States Secretary of Defense to expedite the transfer of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and its accompanying destroyers to the Middle East, the US military announced that this task force has entered the region. As concerns rise over the possibility of a regional war following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the extremist group Hamas, the arrival of this aircraft carrier temporarily increases the number of US aircraft carriers in the area to at least two. The Lincoln is set to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt. The US Central Command, CENTCOM, wrote on social media on Wednesday, August 31: '[The aircraft carrier] USS Abraham Lincoln, equipped with F-35C and F/A-18 Block 3 fighter jets, has entered the area for which CENTCOM is responsible.' The statement adds: 'USS Abraham Lincoln is accompanied by Destroyer Squadron 21 and Naval Air Wing 9.' The Pentagon had announced ten days prior that Lloyd Austin, the US Secretary of Defense, had ordered the Lincoln to be moved to the Middle East more quickly. Concerns about the escalation of war in the Middle East have increased since Iran and Hezbollah promised revenge for the killings of Ismail Haniyeh and Fouad Shukr, a senior commander of Hezbollah, about three weeks ago.