US President Donald Trump has been pushing for punitive action against Iran

Since Trump came to power, tension between the US and Iran has escalated. USS Abraham Lincoln’s deployment has followed a series of developments over the past few weeks. In April, the Trump administration declared a terrorist organization, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an elite force of Iran.

Economic sanctions were ratcheting under Trump. There is tremendous pressure on the Iranian economy. Inflation has gone past 40 %, causing people a lot of hardship. However, the Rouhani government is not prepared to buckle under US pressure.

Oil exports have kept Iran’s economy afloat to select countries. India, despite sanctions, was a major oil importer from Iran and thus a major factor in the economic well-being of the country. On the other hand, the United States has been pushing Iran for zero oil exports.

Reports suggest that the recent UN decision to appoint Masood Azhar as a global terrorist that came with a rider from the Trump administration after a lot of to – and-fro between India, the US and China.

Trump wants India to completely halt oil imports from Iran to return the favour, for Masood Azhar, the Jaish-e-Mohammed chief responsible for a series of terrorist attacks in India, to be appointed.

The US has more than 5,000 troops in Iraq and around 2,000 soldiers in Syria. Given that Iran has shown a tendency of escalating the military cost for the US, the deployment of a warship in Persian Gulf indicates that Trump might just be ready for yet another American war in the Middle-East.