US flexes muscles in Gulf to reassure allies

A US aircraft carrier's passage through the Gulf is the latest demonstration of the superpower's enduring military presence in the Middle East aimed at reassuring allies, experts and officials say.

In a potent symbol of military might, the Abraham Lincoln carrier and its attendant warships cruised through the Strait of Hormuz this week.

The voyage came after United States President Donald Trump wrote in a tweet last month that "going into the Middle East is the worst decision ever".

But since then, the US military has taken action to emphasise its long-standing presence in a region where the US has deep strategic interests.

It conducted massive trainings, announced the deployment of more troops and created a maritime coalition headquartered in Bahrain to protect shipping in the troubled Gulf waters.

The Abraham Lincoln's transit through the strait, which earlier this year was rocked by a string of attacks that Washington and its allies blame on Iran -- accusations Tehran firmly denies -- was the first for a US carrier since April.

"This show of force is part of a 'say-do' gap that is emerging between verbal US security guarantees in the region and actual American inaction," said Andreas Krieg, a professor at King's College London.

"It is a desperate attempt to reassure allies in the Arabian Gulf."
"The US... needs to maintain a credible threat to Iran."