Iran warns of dire consequences if attacked

Tehran: Iran issued a stern warning against actions that could lead to "regional instability" following the deployment of a major US carrier strike group to the Middle East. The statement came from Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani during a press briefing in Tehran, hours after the US Navy confirmed the arrival of the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group in the US Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility.

The Lincoln strike group, comprising the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, its embarked Carrier Air Wing 9, guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton, and multiple Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, entered the region amid heightened tensions over Iran’s nuclear program, support for proxy groups, and recent Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping.

Pentagon officials described the deployment as a routine rotation to maintain deterrence and ensure freedom of navigation, but Iranian officials framed it as a provocative escalation.

Kanaani stated, “The arrival of yet another American aircraft carrier in our region does not bring security or stability. On the contrary, it is a clear factor of instability and increases the risk of miscalculation.” He accused the United States of “creating unnecessary tension” and urged Washington to “refrain from actions that threaten peace in the region.” Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) separately warned that any hostile move would be met with a “decisive and crushing response.”

The US has also increased naval presence in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden to counter Houthi missile and drone attacks on commercial vessels, which Iran has been accused of supporting.