Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, a force which was key in putting down recent nationwide protests in a crackdown that left thousands dead, is "more ready than ever, finger on the trigger," its commander said Saturday, as U.S. warships headed toward the Middle East.

The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is on its way to the Middle East while additional air defenses are flowing into the region as well.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard chief warns U.S. it has "finger on the trigger" as American warships head to Middle East amid anti-regime protests.

WASHINGTON — Abe will keep Iran honest! President Trump said he’s got an “armada” was sailing toward Iran — and he meant the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group. On Thursday, the commander-in-chief told reporters that “maybe we won’t have to use” the carrier strike group but that the US had “a lot of ships” going in Iran’s direction “just in case.

The assets would give Trump more options in the showdown over protests.

The bloody crackdown offers hints about growing tensions inside the country’s ruling system as the cleric’s rule comes under strain.

The United States is quietly but quickly shifting serious firepower toward the Middle East, and […]

By Michelle Nichols Jan 23 (Reuters) - Iran will treat any attack "as an all-out war against us," a senior Iranian official said on Friday, ahead of the arrival of a U.S. military aircraft carrier strike group and other assets in the Middle East in the coming days.