The US is positioned for a “highly kinetic” campaign against Iran after launching one of the largest recent military actions in the Middle East, a former senior Pentagon official has claimed.
Dana Stroulnow research director at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, made the assessment Sunday as Washington and Tehran prepare for a second round of indirect nuclear talks in Oman.
“The U.S. military can quickly reposition assets from around the world and deploy overwhelming lethal force in a single area in short order,” she said, before emphasizing that there is “no ally or enemy capable of what we have seen in the current U.S. buildup.”
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The world’s largest warship, the American aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, en route from the Oslofjord near Nesodden and Bygdoy, Norway, September 17, 2025. (NTB/Lise Aserud via Reuters)
Describing how the current posture differs from the June 2025 attacks on Iran-linked nuclear targets, Stroul said the US has expanded its offensive and defensive capabilities.
“Two U.S. aircraft carriers and their escort ships and air wings were stationed in the Middle East last summer during the Twelve Day War and U.S. Operation Midnight Hammer,” she explained.
“The addition of the Ford is very important, it expands the US offensive capabilities if we go to war with Iran,” she said.
While the US launched limited but highly targeted strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure in June 2025 to degrade key facilities without sparking a regional war, Stroul now says the force is broader and more sustainable.
The US has also “increased the number of guided missile destroyers, fighter jets, tankers and air defense systems” in the region, she explained.
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An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41 prepares for an arrested landing on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Pacific Ocean on August 10, 2024. (U.S. Navy/Mass Communications Specialist Sailor Apprentice Daniel Kimmelman/Reuters)
The use of aircraft carriers such as the USS Gerald R. Ford and USS Abraham Lincoln has taken on greater strategic importance.
The USS Gerald R. Ford was recently tracked as it sailed east through the Strait of Gibraltar, while the USS Abraham Lincoln operated in the Arabian Sea.
“They will both be in the CENTCOM theater in the Middle East,” Stroul explained before clarifying that there could be “one in the Eastern Mediterranean and the other in the Arabian Gulf.”
“There would probably be a combination of reasons for that, based on availability, readiness and proximity to the Middle East.
“The Ford was heading home and was ordered to turn around,” she added.
Although the airlines’ specific destinations have not been made public for operational security reasons, their presence alone indicates escalating influence and deterrence.
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Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Hamad Al Busaidi, US President Donald Trump’s Special Representative for the Middle East Steve Witkoff and US negotiator Jared Kushner meet ahead of US-Iran talks in Muscat, the capital of Oman, on February 6, 2026. (from Oman, in FebruaryOman Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The military build-up comes as indirect diplomatic talks continue between Washington and Tehran, with Oman serving as mediator again on February 26.
Stroul argued that the Iranian leadership is trying to strike a balance between bargaining and bargaining.
“Iran’s leaders are playing a weak hand by combining saber-rattling about their own capabilities with organizing preparations and exercises to signal readiness,” she claimed.
“They are trying to delay this by continuing negotiations. No one should be under any illusions about the reality of US dominance – Iran is completely outmatched in conventional terms,” Stroul said.
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NOPO armed special police units are on the ground as Iranians take to the streets of Enghelab (Revolution) Square in central Tehran, Iran, on June 24, 2025, to celebrate the ceasefire after a 12-day war with Israel. (NEGAR/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
“In one day last year, Israel dominated Iranian airspace, targeted many Iranian security leaders, eliminated half of its missile arsenal, and the US significantly rolled back its nuclear program,” Stroul said.
Iran’s long-cultivated network of allies across the region – including Hezbollah, Shiite militias in Iraq and elements in Syria – has also weakened following sustained Israeli military pressure.
“The long-cultivated network of Iranian proxies across the region has deteriorated after more than two years of Israeli operations, and they refused to join the war and support Iran’s defense last summer,” Stroul explained.
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“No matter what Iranian leaders say, Iran is not capable of rebuilding a decades-long project in a few months.”
“That said, the U.S. military is in a position to carry out whatever orders President Trump issues,” she said. “It is not a matter of military preparedness, but a political decision.”
