The might of the world's foremost military superpower was bearing down on Iran last night – an armada of American ships and aircraft that could reduce the country to rubble.
If one aircraft carrier 'Strike Group' loitering in the Mediterranean Sea was not sufficiently intimidating, these warships, carrying nine squadrons of combat aircraft, will soon be joined by more.
Last night a second 'Strike Group', led by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, was steaming towards the region, effectively doubling the US Navy's lethality.
The 50-year-old Nimitz is due to be decommissioned next year. Its involvement in any operations against Iran would 'right the wrongs of history', according to US defence sources, because the carrier was involved in Operation Eagle Claw, an aborted mission to rescue US hostages held in Iran in 1980.
In addition to these two Strike Groups, the US Navy has directed destroyer USS Thomas Hudner to sail east across the Mediterranean.
