The Patriot missile system, manufactured by Raytheon , is combat-tested against aircraft, drones, cruise missiles and tactical ballistic missiles. The system is currently deployed in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The USS Arlington and a Patriot battery will join the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and a U.S. Air Force bomber task force, which were deployed earlier in the week to the region in response to "heightened Iranian readiness to conduct offensive operations." WASHINGTON — The Pentagon approved the deployment of a Patriot missile defense battery and a Navy ship to the Middle East amid increasing tensions between the United States and Iran. The additional U.S. forces to the Middle East is the Trump administration's latest effort to pressure Tehran over its support for weapons proliferation and extremist groups in the Middle East. "The Department of Defense continues to closely monitor the activities of the Iranian regime, their military and proxies. Due to operational security, we will not discuss timelines or location of forces. The United States does not seek conflict with Iran, but we are postured and ready to defend U.S. forces and interests in the region," the Pentagon wrote in a statement Friday announcing the deployment. On Wednesday, Trump ordered new sanctions placed on Iranian metals, Tehran's largest non-petroleum-related sources of export revenue. The U.S. also took aim at Iranian oil by effectively ordering countries worldwide to stop buying Tehran's oil or face sanctions of their own. Additionally, the U.S. designated Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group. Iran responded with threats to close the Gulf's Strait of Hormuz, where about a third of the world's oil export vessels pass. The U.S. then announced it was expediting the deployment of a carrier strike group equipped with bomber aircraft to the region. Tehran announced it was relaxing some restrictions on its nuclear program but would not violate a 2015 accord with Russia, China, Britain, France, Germany and the United States. Iran had agreed to the 2015 limits on its disputed nuclear program in return for sanctions relief. A year ago Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, calling it a "horrible, one-sided" deal.<doc-sep>Tensions escalated in the Middle East on Friday as Iran warned it could easily destroy a naval fleet sent by the United States in order to ward off a potential threat to American commercial interests. "Their billion[-dollar] fleet can be destroyed with one missile," Ayatollah Tabatabai-Nejad said, according to Reuters. "If they attempt any move, they will ... [face] dozens of missiles because at that time [government] officials won't be in charge to act cautiously, but instead things will be in the hands of our beloved leader," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, he warned. The heated rhetoric has capped a multiyear standoff over the rogue nation's nuclear program. President Trump's administration angered the regime when he withdrew from an Obama-era nuclear deal granting Iran sanctions relief in exchange for limited monitoring accommodations. PENTAGON SAYS IT'LL SEND SHIP, MISSILE BATTERY TO MIDDLE EAST TO DETER IRAN The regime relaxed constraints on its nuclear program in reaction to sanctions the administration applied in May as part of its plan to put a chokehold on the nation's crude oil exports. U.S. intelligence indicated that Iran considered military action and could close a waterway through which a hefty amount of the world's oil passes. “Iran or its proxies could respond by targeting commercial vessels, including oil tankers, or U.S. military vessels in the Red Sea, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, or the Persian Gulf,” the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) said on Friday. While the president has warned of a potential U.S. military response, he also urged Iranian leaders on Thursday to talk with him about their nuclear program. "What they should be doing is calling me up, sitting down; we can make a deal, a fair deal. ... We're not looking to hurt Iran," Trump reportedly told the press. In a statement on Thursday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also pushed talks between leaders but warned that the U.S. was ready to take "swift and decisive" action. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "The regime in Tehran should understand that any attacks by them or their proxies of any identity against U.S. interests or citizens will be answered with a swift and decisive U.S. response," he said. Military action appeared more likely after Iran's Revolutionary Guard refused to hold talks with the U.S. “No talks will be held with the Americans, and the Americans will not dare take military action against us," Yadollah Javani, the group's deputy head for political affairs, said.<doc-sep>GENEVA (Reuters) - A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander said on Sunday the U.S. military presence in the Gulf used to be a serious threat but now represents a target, the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) reported. The U.S. military has sent forces, including an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers, to the Middle East in a move that U.S. officials said was made to counter “clear indications” of threats from Iran to American forces in the region. The USS Abraham Lincoln is replacing another carrier rotated out of the Gulf last month. “An aircraft carrier that has at least 40 to 50 planes on it and 6,000 forces gathered within it was a serious threat for us in the past but now it is a target and the threats have switched to opportunities,” said Amirali Hajizadeh, head of the Guards’ aerospace division. “If (the Americans) make a move, we will hit them in the head,” he added, according to ISNA. U.S. President Donald Trump also has increased economic pressure on Iran, moving to cut off all its oil exports, to try to get Tehran to curb its nuclear and missile programs as well as end support for proxies in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen. Speaking to CNBC in an interview to be broadcast on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. deployments came in response to intelligence about potential Iranian attacks and aimed both to deter them and to be able to respond if necessary. “We’ve seen this reporting,” Pompeo said. “It’s real. It appears to be something that is current, that is things we’re worried about today.” “In the event that Iran decided to come after an American interest - whether that be in Iraq or Afghanistan or Yemen or any place in the Middle East - we are prepared to respond in an appropriate way,” he said, adding that “our aim is not war.” Iranian navy commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi said on Sunday that American forces must exit, according to ISNA. “The presence of the Americans in the Persian Gulf region has reached its end and they must leave the region,” Khanzadi said. Major General Hossein Salami, appointed head of the Guards last month, told parliament on Sunday the United States had started a psychological war in the region, the parliamentary spokesman said. “Commander Salami, with attention to the situation in the region, presented an analysis that the Americans have started a psychological war because the comings and goings of their military is a normal matter,” spokesman Behrouz Nemati said, according to parliament’s ICANA news site.<doc-sep>
A U.S. Navy fleet sent to the Persian Gulf to ward off a potential threat to American commercial interests represents a target instead of a serious threat, a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander said Sunday. The Pentagon on Friday announced plans to send the USS Arlington and the Patriot missile battery to the Middle East in an effort to deter actions from Iran. The maneuver came after national security adviser John Bolton said the U.S. was sending the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force to the U.S. Central Command region, which includes the Middle East. IRANIAN CLERIC THREATENS U.S. NAVY FLEET AMID WARNING REGIME COULD TARGET COMMERCIAL SHIPS “An aircraft carrier that has at least 40 to 50 planes on it and 6,000 forces gathered within it was a serious threat for us in the past but now it is a target and the threats have switched to opportunities,” said Amirali Hajizadeh, the head of the IRG’s aerospace division, according to Iranian media. Haijizadeh added: “If [the Americans] make a move, we will hit them in the head.” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told CNBC the move to deploy a U.S. military team in the Gulf came in response to intelligence reports about possible Iranian attacks. “We've seen this reporting,” Pompeo said. “It's real. It appears to be something that is current, that is things we're worried about today.” Pompeo added: “In the event that Iran decided to come after an American interest - whether that be in Iraq or Afghanistan or Yemen or any place in the Middle East - we are prepared to respond in an appropriate way … our aim is not war.” Iranian naval commander Rear Admiral Hossien Khanzadi demanded the U.S. leave the region, Reuters reported, citing the Iranian media. An Iranian cleric warned last week that Iran could easily destroy a U.S. naval fleet. “Their billion[-dollar] fleet can be destroyed with one missile," Ayatollah Tabatabai-Nejad said. “If they attempt any move, they will ... [face] dozens of missiles because at that time [government] officials won't be in charge to act cautiously, but instead things will be in the hands of [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei],” he warned. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The heated rhetoric has capped a multiyear standoff over the rogue nation's nuclear program. President Trump's administration angered the regime when he withdrew from an Obama-era nuclear deal granting Iran sanctions relief in exchange for limited monitoring accommodations. Fox News’ Sam Dorman and Elizabeth Zwirz contributed to this report.