The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group has arrived in the Middle East, the US military said on Monday, dramatically boosting American firepower in the region.

The carrier and its accompanying ships were ordered to the region as Iran dealt with protests which it has blamed on the United States and Israel.

While US President Donald Trump has since backed away from military action against Tehran, he has insisted all options remain on the table.

The strike group is "currently deployed to the Middle East to promote regional security and stability," US Central Command, which is responsible for American forces in the region, said in a post on X.

Trump told Axios in an interview on Monday that the United States has "a big armada next to Iran," but said Tehran is eager to talk: "They want to make a deal. I know so. They called on numerous occasions."

A senior US official meanwhile said to reporters during a call that Washington is "open for business" if the Iranians "want to contact us."

Protests erupted late December in several Iranian cities over the sharp depreciation of the rial and sweeping reforms to government subsidies. Initially held peacefully, the protests gradually became violent.

Trump had repeatedly threatened to intervene if Iran continued to kill protesters, but the countrywide demonstrations have since abated. The president said he had been told that killings were subsiding and that he believes there is currently no plan for the executions of prisoners.

Iran's foreign ministry warned on Monday of a "comprehensive and regret-inducing response to any aggression".

Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said: "The arrival of such a battleship is not going to affect Iran's determination and seriousness to defend the Iranian nation."

A senior military official told state television that the "buildup of extra-regional forces and equipment... would not act as a deterrent but rather increase their vulnerability and turn them into accessible targets".

Meanwhile, a new anti-US billboard has appeared in the central Enghelab Square in Tehran that appears to show an American aircraft carrier being destroyed.

"If you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind," its English-language caption reads.

In Lebanon, Iran-backed Shiite militant group Hezbollah oganised a rally in support of the Islamic republic featuring an address by its leader Naim Qassem, who warned "a war on Iran this time will ignite the region".

Iran's Gulf neighbour the United Arab Emirates, which hosts a US airbase, said it would not allow attacks on Iran to be launched from its territory. (Agencies)