The Pentagon said Thursday it’s moving a carrier strike group toward the Middle East, as the Trump administration continues to threaten airstrikes against Iran. The USS Abraham Lincoln and accompanying warships and aircraft are currently in the Indo-Pacific region and should take about a week to reposition. On Thursday, the White House said “all options remain on the table,” as it announced new sanctions against Iran, citing the ongoing crackdown on anti-government protesters — this as the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, David Barnea, is in the United States with plans to meet Trump’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff in Miami. At the United Nations, Iran’s deputy U.N. ambassador said any attack would be a violation of the U.N. Charter, and said his nation was prepared to fight back.

Gholamhossein Darzi: “Iran seeks neither escalation nor confrontation. However, any act of aggression, direct or indirect, will be met with a decisive, proportionate and lawful response.”