The USS Abraham Lincoln, one of the US’s 11 aircraft carriers, entered Middle Eastern waters this week after an 11-day transit from the South China Sea.

President Trump has not ruled out military action against Iran after the regime’s deadly crackdown on nationwide anti-government protests there.

"We have a large armada, flotilla, call it whatever you want, heading toward Iran right now, even larger than what we had in Venezuela," the Republican president told reporters in the Oval Office.