<span style="color: #222222;">Headquarters of US Defence Department – Pentagon has announced that it is deploying an amphibious assault ship and a Patriot missile battery to the Middle East. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The object is to bolster an aircraft carrier force sent to counter alleged threats from Iran. The assets will join the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a US Air Force bomber task force in the Middle East region. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The Pentagon claimed the step comes in response to indications of heightened Iranian readiness to conduct offensive operations against US forces and interests.</span><br />