# Middle East escalation

On the Brink: US Carrier Group, Strike Assets and Iranian Alerts Raise Risk of Rapid Escalation

U.S. military forces have massed in the Gulf and a carrier strike group has entered the Arabian Sea as Washington signals it may be poised to strike Iran imminently. Tehran has publicly offered talks but has mobilised forces and warned that any attack would prompt regional retaliation, leaving the region dangerously close to rapid escalation.