The United States is deploying a naval strike group to the Middle East in “response to a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings” from Iran, declared National Security Adviser John Bolton Sunday.

“The United States is deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force to the US Central Command region to send a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime that any attack on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force,” he added.

The move has been ordered “as a deterrence to what has been seen as potential preparations by Iranian forces and its proxies that may indicate possible attacks on US forces in the region,” said a US official on condition of anonymity.

Though Bolton cited no specific Iranian activities that have raised new concerns, Iran has recently warned it would block the Strait of Hormuz if it was barred from using the strategic waterway. About a fifth of the oil consumed globally passes through the strait.

“The United States is not seeking war with the Iranian regime, but we are fully prepared to respond to any attack, whether by proxy, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps or regular Iranian forces,” he said in a statement.