Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the increased US military presence in the Middle East was implemented "to protect against what could be an Iranian threat to our personnel," UNN reports with reference to AP.
"I think it's wise and prudent to have a military presence in the region that could respond and... if necessary, preemptively prevent an attack on thousands of American servicemen and other facilities in the region and our allies," Rubio said in Congress.
The publication notes that these remarks came on the same day that Trump demanded Iran abandon its nuclear weapons development plans, while threatening a "much worse" attack than last year's strike on its nuclear facilities, in a post on his social media platform.
Trump stated that the US Navy strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is "ready, willing, and able to quickly execute its mission, with speed and violence if necessary."