Washington intensifies navy buildup in Middle East as Trump considers strikes on Iran

President Trump could order strikes on targets in Iran as early as this weekend, reports this week indicated, as the Pentagon continues a massive military buildup in the region and U.S. negotiators continue diplomatic talks with Iranian officials. 

Despite Mr. Trump’s insistence that he would rather see a diplomatic solution to the ongoing Iran tensions, the U.S. has continued to move valuable military assets to the Middle East that would be capable of striking at Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear infrastructure. 

Among the most high-profile assets reportedly moved to the region recently are the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford, which was previously stationed in the Caribbean when Washington was preparing its operation against ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The carrier group was spotted near Gibraltar on Wednesday and will join the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier group, which was sent to the region last month. 

The naval buildup, which also includes dozens of refueling tankers and destroyers, would likely be used to defend U.S. bases and personnel in the event of an Iranian response to strikes. One of the carrier groups could also be stationed near Israel to defend against possible attacks if Israel participates in strikes.

The Pentagon has also reportedly moved additional ground-based air defense systems, including Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) and Patriot Missile Defense systems, to the region over the past month.

F-35, F-22, and F-16 fighter jets have also been steadily moved from locations across Europe and the U.S. to closer bases in the Middle East, which could facilitate easier, faster military strikes on Iran. Long-range bombers in the U.S. have also been on a higher-than-usual alert status for weeks. 

The buildup comes as Washington and Tehran engaged in the indirect nuclear talks for the first time since Tehran’s June war with Israel and the U.S. The latest round of discussions, which took place on Tuesday, was described as productive by Iran’s foreign minister, but he added that a deal covering Iran’s nuclear program was a long way off. 

Mr. Trump and his allies have consistently insisted that Iran dismantle its nuclear program or face military action by the U.S. After five rounds of discussions last year, at which Tehran refused to give up uranium enrichment, Israel launched a series of preemptive strikes on Iran in June that were soon followed by targeted strikes by U.S. B-2 bombers on heavily fortified Iranian enrichment sites. 

In January, after Iran’s violent suppression of a nationwide protest movement left thousands dead, Mr. Trump re-upped his threats of military action, this time calling for Iran to dismantle its nuclear program along with its long-range ballistic missiles and end its support for proxy groups in the region. 

Most of those demands have been too rich for Tehran, which has insisted that ongoing negotiations only cover the future of Iran’s nuclear program. 

The slow progress of diplomacy may push Mr. Trump to launch strikes on Iran as soon as this weekend, though the goals of potential U.S. attacks remain unclear. It is unlikely that quick and targeted attacks on Iranian ballistic missile or Revolutionary Guard Corps sites would result in regime change, and Tehran’s nuclear sites were so damaged during last year’s attacks that the country has not been able to restart enrichment.

Additionally, concerns remain about Iran’s response to U.S. strikes. Tehran has consistently said that it would respond violently to any strikes and has implied that the scope of its attacks would be far greater than those in June, when Iran launched a telegraphed attack on a U.S. airbase. 

Last month, when Mr. Trump was threatening military action, several U.S. partners in the Middle East, including Egypt and Oman, urged the White House to reconsider over concerns that Iran strikes could trigger a devastating regional conflict.

Still, Mr. Trump has not indicated publicly that he has given up on diplomacy with Iran.

“The president has always been very clear, though, with respect to Iran or any country around the world, diplomacy is always his first option, and Iran would be very wise to make a deal with President Trump and with this administration,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters during a Wednesday briefing.