WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is sending a number of additional weapons to the Middle East, including more warships, air defenses and submarines, in preparation for a possible military attack on Iran if President Donald Trump decides to do so, according to U.S. officials and public tracking information.
The increase in military equipment comes as the United States and Iran continue diplomatic talks that could lead to averting conflict. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said there had been “good progress” after indirect talks with President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner in Geneva on Tuesday. White House press secretary Caroline Levitt said Wednesday that while “some progress has been made” in the talks, “there are still many details to discuss.”
Opinions on both sides differed greatly on fundamental issues, and the prospect of a breakthrough seemed far off. The Trump administration has insisted that Iran agree to limits not only on its nuclear program but also on its missile program, which Tehran has so far rejected as out of the question.
President Trump’s senior national security advisers met in the White House Situation Room on Wednesday to discuss the Iran issue, according to a senior administration official. The official said no final decision on potential military action has been made as the United States awaits a written response from Iran that could address some of the outstanding areas of disagreement.
Officials indicated at the meeting that all U.S. forces needed for the potential action are expected to be in place by mid-March, the official said.
Meanwhile, the second aircraft carrier that President Trump is sending to the Middle East, the USS Gerald R. Ford, and an accompanying ship are sailing across the Atlantic Ocean toward the Mediterranean Sea, U.S. officials said. They are expected to arrive on site within days, and the nuclear-powered submarine remains in the Mediterranean Sea.
Once they arrive, they will join the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its accompanying ships that make up the carrier strike group in the Persian Gulf, U.S. officials said.
A number of other ships are also in the area, including at least three littoral combat ships, one guided missile destroyer in the Red Sea and two guided missile destroyers in the Persian Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz, according to ship trackers at the U.S. Naval Research Institute.
Iranian officials have warned in recent years that if the country was attacked, it would militarily close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route that handles about 20% of the world’s oil supplies. Iranian state media reported on Tuesday that part of the Strait of Hormuz would be closed for several hours due to “security precautions” while Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps was conducting military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz.
Aircraft carriers and accompanying warships allow the United States to attack Iran without using American aircraft stationed in the Gulf Arab states. Those governments say they will not allow offensive operations to begin from their territory, fearing retaliation from Iran’s missile arsenal.
It is still unclear whether the attack on Iran will be carried out by the US military alone or in a joint operation with the Israeli military.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to visit Israel on February 28 to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a State Department official said.
Netanyahu, who visited Washington last week, is concerned about the ongoing Iran negotiations and Rubio will provide him with updates, another State Department official said. Israel opposed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, and President Trump withdrew the United States from it during his first term.
At the height of street protests against the Iranian regime in January, President Trump assured protesters that “help is on the way.” But U.S. intervention failed, and Iranian security forces shot thousands of unarmed protesters across the country. The US-based Human Rights Defenders News Agency said in a report on Sunday that 7,015 people have been killed since protests began in late December.
President Trump has publicly said he has put the idea of taking military action on hold because Iran has halted its deadly crackdown on protesters. Since then, he has pursued diplomatic negotiations.
The U.S. military buildup in the region is similar to one that preceded the air raids President Trump ordered in June against three Iranian nuclear facilities, in which two aircraft carriers were deployed in the Arabian Sea.
The June airstrike was the first time the United States launched airstrikes on mainland Iran. According to the Pentagon, Operation Midnight Hammer lasted less than 30 minutes. This time, U.S. airstrikes against Iran could last even longer, especially if President Trump attempts to do lasting or even fatal damage to the Iranian regime.
If talks with Iran fail, President Trump has a wide range of options, including a full-scale attack on Iran to overthrow the regime or a limited strike to prevent Iran from rebuilding its nuclear facilities or removing its ballistic missile bases. Otherwise, nothing can be done. NBC News reported that Israeli officials told President Trump in December that they wanted to attack Iran’s ballistic missile facilities.
A retired senior defense official said the United States likely has sufficient military capabilities in the region to carry out limited, targeted attacks.
Depending on Trump’s decision, those targets could include Iranian air defense systems already damaged in June’s Israel-Iran war, ballistic missile storage and launch pads, drone manufacturing factories and bases used by the Revolutionary Guards and Basij militias. Both forces played a leading role in a deadly crackdown on anti-regime protests last month that left thousands dead.
If Trump attempts to overthrow his government, he could order a series of covert actions or “decapitation” attacks aimed at killing the country’s leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
Former officials and experts say any attack on nuclear facilities is likely to include an attack on the underground facility dug into the side of a mountain called Kueh Koran Gath Lar (Pickax Mountain), which was not targeted in June’s air campaign. Iran has resumed construction work at a site near another nuclear facility, Natanz, since June, according to commercial satellite images and experts.
“My sense of the regime is that it’s going to pursue a policy of maximum weakening, weakening the regime, and if the inevitable outcome of that is regime change, that’s great,” said Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a think tank that has called for tougher sanctions and other measures against Iran.
Some Middle East experts believe that if President Trump decides to take military action to overthrow the regime, he will need more assets in the region than he currently has.
“I don’t think they have enough supplies yet,” said a former senior defense official.
Many air defense capabilities, including the Patriot system, are not yet in place, according to people familiar with the matter and former senior defense officials.
Regional analysts said how Trump decides to respond to the Iran issue could determine the perception of America’s power in the world, given his promises to protesters and whether a generation of Iranians will lose faith in the United States.
“America’s credibility is at stake,” Dubowitz said.
Levitt said Wednesday that President Trump is still considering military options but wants a deal with Iran. “The Iranian side is expected to come back with more detailed information in the coming weeks, and the president will continue to monitor developments,” he said.
Levitt also cited the attack President Trump ordered on Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities in June and said Iran should reach a deal.
“But the president has always made it clear that diplomacy is always the first option when it comes to Iran or any country around the world, and Iran would be very wise to strike a deal with President Trump and the current administration,” she said.
