A US aircraft carrier, USS Abraham Lincoln, ordered by the White House to rapidly deploy to the Middle East remains outside of the Persian Gulf, so far avoiding any confrontation with the Iranian Army and the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) forces.

Iran Press/America: Efforts are underway to deescalate tensions between Tehran and Washington. According to an Associated Press report, the US Navy claims the aircraft carrier could respond rapidly to any regional threat from their current position, some 320 kilometers off the eastern coast of Oman in the Indian Ocean.

However, after decades of American aircraft carriers sailing through the Strait of Hormuz, the US Navy’s decision to keep the Lincoln away is striking.

Capt. Putnam Browne, the commanding officer of the USS Abraham Lincoln, told Associated Press: “You don’t want to inadvertently escalate something.”

The White House in May deployed the aircraft carrier, USS Abraham Lincoln and B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf, sharply increasing tensions with Iran, claiming that Iran is threatening US interests in the region -- a claim which Iran has categorically rejected.

The crisis has Its root in President Donald Trump’s withdrawal last year from the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers that limited Iran’s uranium enrichment activities in return for lifting of sanctions against Tehran.

 Washington subsequently re-imposed sanctions on Iran after illegally abrogating the multilateral nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action (JCPOA) in May 2018.

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