The United States has one of its largest military buildups ever in the Persian Gulf as nuclear negotiations with Iran hang in the balance and President Donald Trump threatens military action.
Two aircraft carrier strike groups, dozens of warships, fighter jets, air defense systems, and around 40,000 U.S. troops are now positioned in the region.
An air war could start as soon as the weekend.
The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group arrived in the Persian Gulf in late January with approximately 5,680 crew members and 90 aircraft including F-35 fighters. The USS Gerald R. Ford — the Navy’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier — is crossing the Atlantic and expected to arrive in the region within days.
“In case we don’t make a deal, we’ll need it,” Trump said Friday when asked why the Ford was headed to the region.
Trump has repeatedly threatened military strikes if Iran does not agree to nuclear disarmament.
“I think [the nuclear talks] be successful,” Trump said. “If they’re not, it’s going to be a very bad day for Iran.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected Trump’s conditions during the Geneva talks Tuesday and threatened to bomb U.S. warships.
“The strongest army in the world can sometimes be slapped so hard it cannot get up,” Khamenei said, and claimed Iran is “capable of sinking” American naval vessels.
Iran partially closed the Strait of Hormuz shipping corridor on February 17 for live-fire military drills. The strategic waterway handles about 20% of global oil supply.
U.S. officials told Axios that Iran has just weeks to make a deal.
“The boss is getting fed up,” a Trump adviser told Axios. “Some people around him warn against going to war with Iran, but I think there is 90% chance we see kinetic action in the next few weeks.”
Trump’s top national security advisers met in the White House Situation Room Wednesday to discuss a potential war. No final decisions about military action have been made, according to a senior administration official.
The U.S. military buildup includes guided-missile destroyers in the Persian Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz, a guided-missile destroyer in the Red Sea, two destroyers in the Mediterranean, and at least one nuclear submarine.
More than 50 more fighter aircraft including F-35s, F-22s, and F-16s were transferred to the region in the last week, according to Axios.
THAAD and Patriot air defense systems have been deployed at U.S. bases in the region. Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar houses U.S. Central Command’s forward headquarters.
F-15E fighter jets were relocated from RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom to Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. UK Eurofighter Typhoons were deployed to Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
The buildup gives the U.S. military numerous options. Guided-missile destroyers with the carriers can carry dozens of Tomahawk cruise missiles with a 1,000-mile range.
“The gathering of forces is a point of pressure applied by the United States on Iran to come to a negotiated agreement,” Amin Tarzi, professor of strategic studies at Marine Corps War College, said.
The United States demands that Iran transfer its remaining 400 kilograms of enriched uranium, halt nuclear weapons development, restrict its ballistic missile program, and end their financial and military support for the terrorist groups Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis.