Iran's president said Tuesday he instructed the country’s foreign minister to “pursue fair and equitable negotiations” with the United States, the first clear sign from Tehran it wants to try to negotiate as tensions remain high with Washington after the Mideast country's bloody crackdown on nationwide protests last month.

The US Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its escort ships have been moved toward the Middle East in response to rising tensions with Tehran, underlining the classic contest between an “armada” that projects conventional power and a “swarm” of lower-cost asymmetric options Iran favours.

The US military accused Iran of "unnecessary aggression" after shooting down an Iranian drone near the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea and IRGC vessels approached a US-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz ahead of US-Iran talks later this week.

Bill Fallon, a retired US Navy Admiral and an author, discusses US-Iran tensions through the lens of US military actions in the past, and says that while the Trump administration has been pulling in forces to intimidate Iran,

U.S. naval and air forces are moving toward the Middle East as tensions with Iran rise, highlighting deterrence efforts, escalation risks, and what the buildup means for servicemembers operating in the region.

U.S. allies and partners in the Middle East again are urging restraint from both the United States and Iran as the Trump administration warns of a possible strike and builds up its military presence in the region.

A U.S. Navy destroyer that was docked at the Israeli port of Eilat was seen on Sunday (February 1) maneuvering into the Red Sea, as tensions between Washington and Iran remain high despite talks. On Friday (January 30) Israel's Ynet said the arrival of the destroyer at the southern port on the Gulf of Aqaba,

Global proliferation of more capable air defenses means the era of the Navy 'flying with impunity' is increasingly at an end.