Iran tensions: What does the US fleet heading to the Middle East include?

An American aircraft carrier, along with three accompanying destroyers, is on its way to the Middle East as tensions flare between the US and Iran, bringing the region closer to the brink of wider war.

President Donald Trump had warned on Thursday that the United States had an "armada" of warships heading towards Iran, which he has threatened to take military action against following a violent government crackdown on protesters that activists say have killed over 5,000 people.

Washington and its ally Israel are also piling pressure on Tehran over its nuclear and missile programmes, which were targeted during the 12-day war last June.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.

The USS Abraham Lincoln will join three littoral combat ships that arrived at a Bahrain port on Friday, along with two US Navy destroyers already operating in the Gulf.

The warships were ordered to divert from exercises in the South China Sea to the Middle East.

The arrival of the USS carrier brings approximately 5,700 additional US troops to the region, with many thousands of personnel already stationed at permanent US bases in the Middle East.

"A US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle assigned to the 494th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron lands at a base in the Middle East, January 18," US Central Command said in a post on X.

"The F-15's presence enhances combat readiness and promotes regional security and stability," it added.

The Washington Post reported that analysts who track flight-data patterns have observed dozens of US military cargo aircraft heading toward the region.

This activity resembles what occurred last year when the US transported air defences, such as Patriot missile systems, in anticipation of an Iranian response following strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites in June.

Dana Stroul, director of research at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for Middle East affairs, told The New York Times that the "growing military buildup, especially the aircraft carrier, provides expanded offensive options".

Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the International Crisis Group, was quoted by NYT as saying that the US military threat against Iran was serious, but Washington’s ultimate objective remains unclear.