His latest warnings, along with Iran’s threats of response against U.S. installations in the region, have fueled a spike in oil prices. “The arrival of the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group provides Trump with an expanded set of offensive options,” said Dana Stroul, a former senior Pentagon official now at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. But the arrival of the carrier group gives Trump more options for attacks without relying on allies. Still, “for a serious strike, you’d need either two or three carrier strike groups, or lots of Air Force aviation based ashore,” he said. A U.S. armada headed by the Lincoln aircraft carrier and its strike group, which includes six Tomahawk-enabled guided missile destroyers, arrived in the region this week.