The United States is bolstering its military presence across the Middle East ahead of scheduled nuclear talks with Iran in Geneva, while simultaneously preparing strike options if diplomacy collapses. The deployments are designed both to exert pressure and to enhance operational readiness.
US Air Force assets previously stationed in the United Kingdom—including refuelling tankers and fighter aircraft—are being moved closer to the region. Satellite imagery confirms 12 F-15 attack aircraft deployed at Jordan’s Muwaffaq Salti Air Base since late January. Additional squadrons, including F-35 and F-15E strike fighters, are also repositioning. Additionally, over 250 US military cargo flights have delivered personnel, munitions, and equipment. Washington is simultaneously reinforcing air-defence systems while extending deployments of troops scheduled to rotate out.
At sea, the US now fields two carrier formations. The USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is already in theatre, while the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group is en route. Each group includes guided-missile destroyers armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles (range ~1,000 miles, 1,000-lb warheads) and an attack submarine also capable of launching the same weapons. Carrier air wings provide precision-guided bombs and air-to-surface missile capabilities.
Potential strike targets reportedly extend beyond nuclear facilities to command centres of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other military infrastructure. Coordinated US–Israeli operations, possibly similar to Operation Midnight Hammer, are being hammered out.
The US wants to restrict Iran from any uranium enrichment, which has been a stated red line for Tehran. Parallel negotiations may include economic incentives, such as investment access to Iran’s oil, gas, and rare-earth sectors.
