Beginning in late January 2026, the United States carried out its largest military buildup in the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, deploying air, naval, and missile defense assets amid escalating tensions with Iran, which the United States has attributed to Iran's nuclear program, the 2025–2026 Iranian protests, and a government crackdown that killed thousands of demonstrators. On 28 February 2026, this culminated in a series of joint military strikes in Iran by the United States and Israel, sparking the 2026 Iran war.
Trump held off from immediate military intervention for the protesters, reportedly due to pressure from Israel and the Gulf Arab states and as an apparent reaction to Iranian officials holding off on carrying out executions of prisoners arrested after protests. The planning for a proposed series of attacks also started in co-ordination with Israeli intelligence agencies. In late January, Gulf states reportedly blocked military base and airspace access to the US over fears of Iranian retaliation.
Assets deployed included the US Navy's Carrier Strike Group 3 and Carrier Strike Group 12, led by USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald R. Ford respectively. These groups support cruise missiles, F-35C Lightning II and F/A-18E Super Hornet fighters, and other aircraft. The US Air Force deployed additional F-22 Raptor and F-15E Strike Eagle fighters to bases in Israel and Jordan respectively, as well as large numbers of tanker aircraft.
On 31 March 2026, Carrier Strike Group 10 departed Naval Station Norfolk for deployment to the Middle East, following ongoing combat operations by the US towards Iran. The Carrier Strike Group had arrived in CENTCOM's area of responsibility on April 23, 2026, bringing the amount of Carrier Strike Group's in the area to 3. This is the first time in decades since three aircraft carriers were operating in the Middle East.
Background
Iran's nuclear program
The United States has maintained a military presence in the Middle East since the early Cold War era, expanding it significantly after the Gulf War and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, maintaining military facilities across at least nineteen sites in the Middle East, in countries including Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
In the context of the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, a 2006 report of the Director General of the UN Security Council demonstrated a security concern that the IAEA were at that time unable to satisfactorily demonstrate that the government of Iran's nuclear programme did not include a military nuclear dimension. In the context of the continuation of diplomatic relations, subsequent UN resolutions on the matter of the Iran Nuclear Issue were made from 2007–2010, and in 2015.
U.S. pressure on Iran intensified during Trump's first term. In May 2018, the Trump administration announced that the United States would exit the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and apply a policy of maximum pressure on Iran's economy, centering the strategy on comprehensive economic sanctions. On 4 February 2025, at the start of his second term, Trump signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum restoring the maximum pressure policy, directing the Department of the Treasury to impose maximum economic sanctions on Iran and the Department of State to lead a campaign aimed at driving Iranian oil exports to zero.
Some degree of limitation of the activities of the IAEA was brought into place via the Iranian government in 2021. In 2024 a statement the Iranian government official Kamal Kharrazi stated that Iran was prepared to change its policy on nuclear armament, and that Khamenei's fatwa against nuclear weapons was the only thing stopping them from doing so.
Escalation of tensions in 2025–2026
Tensions escalated sharply in late 2025. On 28 December 2025, protests erupted after a sharp collapse of Iran's currency, amid soaring inflation and worsening living conditions, beginning with shopkeepers in Tehran's Grand Bazaar before spreading across the country. Iranian authorities responded with a crackdown, and on 8 January 2026, cut all internet access to the country. Human Rights Watch found evidence of a coordinated escalation in the use of lethal force beginning 8 January, with protesters and bystanders shot in the head and torso. The death toll remained contested due to the communications blackout. Iran's government put the figure at 3,117; human rights activists counted at least 6,126 dead, while acknowledging the true number could not be independently verified.
On 13 January, speaking in Detroit, Trump told Iranian protesters to "keep protesting" and that "help is on its way," vowing to punish security forces responsible for the killings and announcing he had canceled all meetings with Iranian officials until the crackdown stopped. The U.S. then began reinforcing its military presence in the region.
The Gang of Eight, a group of eight leaders in the US Congress who are commonly briefed on classified intelligence matters, was briefed on the attack prior to its commencement. Also at the time, Bloomberg News reported that NATO Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) craft were surveilling Iran out of Konya Airport, though Turkey later denied reports it was aiding US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
The Trump administration stated in February 2026 that Iran had restarted its nuclear programme and was developing missiles with enough range for an attack on the US. According to an anonymous US source, Trump authorized the strike after the US received intelligence that Iran was planning to preemptively launch missiles. The administration did not provide any evidence that Iran was planning to preemptively strike US assets, and an unspecified Pentagon source told Congress in closed-door briefings that there was no intelligence suggesting Iran was planning to attack US forces first. In March 2026, it was reported by ABC News that the U.S. "recently acquired information that as of early February 2026, Iran allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the United States Homeland, specifically against unspecified targets in California, in the event that the US conducted strikes against Iran."
Deployment
Pre-buildup
Since the October 7 attacks in 2023, the United States has maintained at least one aircraft carrier in the Middle East or eastern Mediterranean, with two carriers present in the region for Operation Rough Rider from March to May of 2025. Coverage briefly lapsed in late 2025 when USS Gerald R. Ford was reassigned to the Caribbean to take part in Operation Southern Spear, but by January 2026 the US naval presence in and around the Middle East was reported to be the largest since the regional crisis began in 2023.
January 2026
In mid-January 2026, USS Abraham Lincoln was ordered to CENTCOM's area of operations and arrived on 26 January with its strike group, including guided-missile destroyers, cruisers, support vessels, and embarked aircraft such as F/A-18E Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers, E-2 Hawkeyes, MH-60 helicopters, and F-35C Lightning IIs.
Additional U.S naval assets reported in the region included warships positioned in the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean, as well as littoral combat ships operating in the Persian Gulf. Air components were reinforced by F-15E Strike Eagle and other fighter aircraft relocated from RAF Lakenheath to Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. Allied forces, including Eurofighter Typhoons belonging to the Royal Air Force, were also stationed at al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
February 2026
Throughout February 2026, U.S. officials signaled plans for an expanded carrier presence. The Wall Street Journal and other outlets reported preparations for deploying USS George H. W. Bush, which was completing drills off the coast of Virginia and indicated additional carriers might be sent to reinforce operations.
On 13 February 2026, sources stated that USS Gerald R. Ford was en route to the Middle East, creating an uncommon two-carrier deployment in the theater at a time of heightened tensions with Iran. Reports from multiple outlets noted that this concentration of U.S. air and naval assets constituted one of the most significant force postures in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. On 20 February, it was reported that the ship was seen off the coast of Gibraltar. The arrival of USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group marks the largest deployment of naval assets to the region since five carrier battle groups assembled at the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
On 24 February 2026, it was reported that twelve F-22 fighter jets had been deployed to Ovda Airbase in southern Israel, which had available hardened aircraft shelters. This was the first US deployment of offensive weaponry in Israel. Fox News and The Wall Street Journal had previously reported that the US had been blocked by Gulf allies from using their bases and airspace for strikes on Iran over fears of retaliation.
On 26 February 2026, Fox News reported that the US Fleet Headquarters in Bahrain had been reduced to fewer than 100 mission critical personnel. Satellite photos revealed that all US ships based in Bahrain had left port. Both steps had previously been taken as defensive measures in 2025 ahead of the United States strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
On 27 February, USS Gerald R. Ford was initially deployed off the coast of Israel. The total number of United States Air Force refueling tankers deployed at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport rose to 14, enabling the Ford's carrier air wings enough range to be able to reach Iran.
Incidents
On 3 February 2026, the US Central Command said that elements of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy attempted to intercept and board the U.S.-flagged tanker MV Stena Imperative in the Strait of Hormuz. The vessel continued on its course toward the Arabian Sea under the escort of the guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul after U.S. naval forces intervened. During the same day, a U.S. F-35C assigned to USS Abraham Lincoln shot down an Iranian Shahed-139 drone that was flying toward the carrier in the Arabian Sea; U.S. Central Command characterized the drone's approach as a potential threat and stated there were no casualties or damage to U.S assets in the encounter. Iranian state media said that the drone had been completing a surveillance mission in international waters.
On 5 February, Iranian state media reported that the IRGC seized two foreign-flagged oil tankers near Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf, transferring them to the port of Bushehr and alleging the vessels were engaged in fuel smuggling.
According to Defense Express, a Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton disappeared over the Strait of Hormuz after sending a 7700 code that signifies an emergency.
Iran war
On 28 February, the United States and Israel reported that they had conducted military strikes on Iran. Explosions were reported in central Tehran, according to the semiofficial Iranian news station and agency Fars. Israeli Channel 12 News revealed shortly after the strikes began that information about the US F-22 deployment was leaked as part of a joint deception operation to hide that strike preparations were more advanced at other bases. This led to large groups of senior Iranian officials going ahead and gathering together, including Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who were then targeted in opening strikes of the war. Days later it was revealed in a Fox News interview of IDF Spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin that there were months of joint US and Israeli "strategic and operation deception" of satellite imagery leading up to the strike. This encompassed both planes and other facilities. The night of the strike he and IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir had taken their official cars home from IDF Headquarters. They came back without them so that leading up to the strike satellite imagery would show that their base did not appear full nor warplanes appear armed and ready for a strike.
Reactions
Iran
Iran's response to the buildup combined military signaling with hardened rhetoric. On 22 January, IRGC commander Gen. Mohammad Pakpour issued a written statement marking the Guards' annual commemoration day, warning the United States and Israel "to avoid any miscalculation" and declaring that the force stood "more ready than ever, finger on the trigger, to execute the orders and measures of the supreme commander-in-chief." Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Abdolrahim Mousavi separately announced that Iran had revised its military doctrine from defensive to offensive following the Twelve-Day War.
On 16 February, the IRGC began live-fire naval drills in the Strait of Hormuz, announcing a temporary closure of sections of the waterway, a rare move not seen since the 1980s. The following day, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned that US warships deployed to the Gulf "could be sunk to the bottom of the sea," stating that the "strongest army in the world may receive a slap it cannot recover from." Iran's UN ambassador said all US bases and assets in the region would be considered legitimate targets in the event of an attack. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned Europe it was "fanning the flames" of a potential wider war, and called the European Union's designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization a "major strategic mistake." Iran's parliament retaliated by designating the armed forces of EU member states as terrorist organizations under domestic law.