Follow the rapid US military build-up near Iran | Military News

The US administration is stepping up its build-up of a wide range of military assets in the Middle East, as President Donald Trump says Iran has “10 to 15 days at most” on agree to trade about its nuclear program and stockpile of ballistic missiles.

As well as the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, which is reportedly joining the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group in the Arabian Sea, key force multipliers such as E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft have been deployed.

In a letter to the United Nations Security Council, Iran said that while the country does not “seek tension or war and will not initiate a war”, any US aggression will be responded to “decisively and proportionately”.

“The United States will bear full and direct responsibility for any unpredictable and uncontrollable consequences,” it said.

Here’s what we know about the recent U.S. deployment of military assets in the Middle East — which also has led to a dispute with the United Kingdom over the use of its joint military base in Diego Garcia.

What air force assets has the US deployed to the Middle East?

According to open-source intelligence analysts and military flight tracking data, the US appears to have deployed more than 120 aircraft to the region in the past few days – the biggest surge in US air power in the Middle East since the 2003 Iraq war.

The reported deployments include E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft, F-35 stealth strike fighters and F-22 air superiority jets, along with F-15s and F-16s. Flight tracking data shows many departure bases in the US and Europe supported by cargo planes and aerial refueling tankers, a sign of sustained operational planning rather than routine rotations.

F-22s and F-35s previously escorted B-2 stealth bombers during Operation Midnight Hammer, the US military attacks on Iranian nuclear sites Trump in June 2025 during the 12 days of conflict between Iran and Israel.

“Watch for any movement by B-2s. That would indicate a possible repeat of ‘Midnight Hammer,'” Mark Cancian, a retired Marine Corps colonel and senior adviser at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, told Al Jazeera.

This latest wave was preceded a few weeks ago by the arrival of Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles. US Central Command said on social media at the time that the fighter jet “improves combat readiness and promotes regional security and stability.”

What role can Diego Garcia and the UK play?

Attention is also focused on Diego Garciathe joint UK-US military base in the Indian Ocean’s Chagos Islands, which is capable of hosting long-range US strategic bombers, including B-2 aircraft.

The remote base has historically served as a launch point for major US air campaigns in the region.

However, Diego Garcia is British sovereign territory leased to Washington, meaning London must approve its use for offensive operations. According to reports in the British media, Prime Minister Keir Starmer indicated to Trump that the US could not use British air bases – including Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford in the UK, which is home to the US heavy bomber fleet in Europe – for attacks on Iran, as this would be in violation of international law.

Trump hit back by withdrawing US support for the UK’s decision to transfer the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, announced last year.

The US president said on Wednesday that Starmer was “making a big mistake” in the agreement to transfer sovereignty of the archipelago.

“DON’T GIVE DIEGO GARCIA AWAY!” Writing in a post on Social Truth, Trump said the base could be called upon in any future military operation to counter a possible attack from Iran.

What do we know about US warships in the Arabian Sea?

The USS Gerald R Fordthe world’s largest aircraft carrier, is currently being redeployed from the Caribbean to the Middle East.

The carrier and its accompanying strike group are expected to arrive in the region in the coming weeks.

On Wednesday, it briefly relayed its location off the coast of Morocco, suggesting it was moving across the Atlantic to the Strait of Gibraltar and then into the Mediterranean.

This is the same vessel that previously supported US military operations in Venezuela, including missions undertaken Operation Southern Spear.

The USS Gerald R Ford will join the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, which recent satellite images show is operating in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Oman, putting US naval power within striking distance of Iran.

The US Navy also has several guided-missile destroyers in the region equipped with advanced air defense and ballistic missile interception systems. These multiple vessels can carry and launch Tomahawk cruise missiles that can hit land targets deep inside Iran, along with their anti-submarine and naval defense missions.

How is Iran responding?

Iran has publicly warned that it would consider any military attack by the US a serious provocation.

Tehran also continued with its own planned military activities. On Wednesday, it announced and began joint naval exercises with Russia in the Sea of ​​Oman and the northern Indian Ocean. It is meant to improve maritime cooperation and signal deterrence amid mounting US pressure.

As part of these maneuvers, Iranian authorities issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) for rocket launches over southern Iran from 03:30 to 13:30 GMT and temporarily closed parts of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically vital shipping route, during live-fire exercises.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also warned that a US attack on Iran would have serious consequences, highlighting the risk of escalation if hostilities spread.

Satellite images published by the Reuters news agency on Thursday showed that Iran had recently launched a concrete shield over a new facility at a sensitive military site and cover it with soil, experts say, promoting work at a site allegedly bombed by Israel in 2024.

Images also show Iran has buried tunnel entrances at a nuclear site bombed by the US during Israel’s 12-day war with Iran last year, reinforced tunnel entrances near another, and repaired missile bases hit in the conflict.

Analytical reports also suggest that Iran has built a multi-layered defense centered on mines, missiles, submarines and drones with the goal of slowing down US forces.

Some analysts say Iran may try to avoid an immediate full-scale confrontation, but that could be difficult.

“Over the past six months, the Iranians have quietly taken additional steps to move critical assets further underground,” Vali Nasr, a professor of international affairs and Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins University, said during a roundtable discussion hosted by the CSIS Middle East Program this week

“They’re going to be unpredictable,” he said. “But I think they can go big at the start, or they might want to drag the United States into a protracted situation.

“You hit a tanker, or you hit an oil facility, or you hit an American ship, and then it’s up to President Trump to decide whether to escalate further. And it could go further.

“We are in a scenario where it can get out of control very quickly,” Nasr added.

Is the US likely to attack Iran?

According to experts, this is a very real possibility.

“The United States is doing all the things it would do if it were to carry out some kind of attack,” Cancian told Al Jazeera. “It moved aircraft into the area, two aircraft carriers, plus enablers like AWACS.”

Barbara Slavi, distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center, agreed with this assessment. “It appears that the Trump administration has decided that it is going to attack Iran again, and I assume in cooperation with the Israelis,” she said.

“What the goals are, we have yet to see. Can they be contained? Will others be drawn in? These are all very important questions, and we don’t have answers.”

Is this a similar situation to what we saw in Venezuela earlier this year?

A build-up of US military assets in the Caribbean, near Venezuela, which began in September 2025, has led to multiple attacks on Venezuelan boats that the US claims – without evidence – were transporting drugs. It culminated in the dramatic January 3 raid on Caracas by US forces and the kidnapping of then-President Nicolas Maduro, who is now facing arms and drug charges in New York.

“The buildup (in the Arabian Sea) has similarities, but one key difference is the strategic context,” Cancian said.

“Other than the Venezuela attackwere there not a major deployment of Special Operations Forces, and Iran’s geography, far inland and heavily defended, makes a quick ground attack unlikely.

“If there are strikes, I would expect long-range missile attacks against security forces like the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Attacks against nuclear facilities are also possible, but missiles like Tomahawk can only damage above-ground facilities,” he added.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is reportedly planning to travel to Israel on February 28 to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a State Department official said.

Last summer, the US carried out airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities even as senior US diplomats were scheduled to meet with their Iranian counterparts in ongoing talks.