The United States continues to deploy large numbers of combat forces to the Middle East in what has been described as the largest concentration of air power in the region since the 2003 Iraq war. This time, the target is Iran.
The buildup does not merely suggest that a military strike against Iran is imminent. Richard Weitz, director of the Center for Political-Military Analysis at the Hudson Institute in Washington, told Alhurra that “this force is sufficient for an operation that would last weeks, not days or hours.”
Last January, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to launch a new military action against Iran following the authorities’ crackdown on popular protests, but he later backed away due to the lack of sufficient military assets in the region.
Today, the situation is different. The United States has deployed two carrier strike groups, along with destroyers, other naval vessels, nuclear-powered submarines, and dozens of fighter jets. It has also replenished air-defense batteries that were depleted during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June.
Since late January, the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and three guided-missile destroyers have been operating in the Arabian Sea after being diverted from the South China Sea.
The carrier, which brought approximately 5,700 additional service members into the region, reinforced a smaller force consisting of a handful of destroyers and three littoral combat ships that were already in place.
Two weeks ago, Trump ordered the deployment of the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, along with three destroyers and more than 5,000 additional personnel to the region.
Other vessels are also present, including at least three littoral combat ships, a guided-missile destroyer in the Red Sea, and two additional destroyers in the Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz, bringing the total number of ships to 14.
Large numbers of U.S. fighter and support aircraft have also arrived in the Middle East, including F-22s and F-16s, reconnaissance aircraft, 85 aerial refueling tankers, and more than 170 cargo planes.
Six E-3 early-warning aircraft were also observed heading toward a base in Saudi Arabia. These aircraft are considered essential for coordinating operations when large numbers of aircraft are operating simultaneously in the air.
Recent satellite imagery and flight-tracking data have also revealed that a military base in central Jordan has been transformed into a key hub for the U.S. military to plan potential strike scenarios against Iran, according to a report by The New York Times.
Images taken on Friday showed more than 60 attack aircraft lined up at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base – roughly three times the number typically stationed there. Flight-tracking data also indicated that at least 68 military cargo aircraft have landed at the base since Sunday, with the possibility that additional fighter jets are sheltered inside hardened hangars.
The images further show the presence of more advanced aircraft than is usually seen at the base, including F-35 stealth fighters, as well as a number of drones and helicopters.
The imagery also indicated that military forces have installed new air-defense systems to protect the base from any potential Iranian missile attacks.
Not all of the weapons the United States could use to strike Iran are currently deployed in the Middle East. B-2 stealth bombers have long trained to conduct Middle East missions from the United States – as they did in June against Iranian nuclear facilities – or from the joint U.S.–British base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
The current military buildup bears some resemblance to the one that preceded the airstrike ordered by Trump in June against three Iranian nuclear sites, when two aircraft carriers were deployed to the Arabian Sea.
“This massive deployment is far larger than what would be needed merely to pressure Iran, and it will be difficult to sustain for a long period,” Weitz told Alhurra. “So, I believe that within the next two weeks, the United States – and President Trump – will have to decide whether to launch an attack or redeploy some of these forces elsewhere.”
Through this buildup, the United States aims to pressure Iran into relinquishing enriched uranium that it says could be used to build a bomb, to halt its support for its regional proxies, and to accept restrictions on its missile program.
Several rounds of negotiations have recently taken place between the two sides, but without a final outcome. Last week, Trump gave Tehran a 10-day deadline to reach an agreement.
If diplomacy fails and the military option is pursued, the United States has a wide range of choices and scenarios available.
Weitz believes the U.S. could carry out another limited, one-time strike, as it did in June, or it could launch a longer air campaign similar to Vietnam – bombing for years, or at least for months – or “something akin to what happened in Iraq before 2003, when we conducted periodic airstrikes on Iraqi targets.”
“The size and nature of the forces provide the United States with a broad spectrum of options,” he added, “and, most importantly, they give it the ability to reduce the impact of the Iranian threat facing our Arab partners and other partners in the Middle East.”
The article is a translation of the original Arabic.
Ghassan Taqi
A journalist specializing in Iraqi affairs, he has worked with the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN) since 2015. He previously spent several years with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, as well as various Iraqi and Arab media outlets.
