A handout photograph released by the U.S. Navy on Feb. 8, 2026, shows observers including U.S. lead negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, as they watch flight operations on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in the Arabian Sea, on Feb. 7, 2026.
The United States has deployed the most substantial air force to the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, as Washington and Tehran on Feb. 19 engage in escalating “gunboat diplomacy” while negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program remain uncertain.
That 2003 assault, which triggered a devastating conflict lasting more than eight years, opened with the so-called “shock and awe” bombing campaign.
Now, U.S. President Donald Trump is weighing potential military action against Iran after last month’s deadly crackdown on anti-government protests, even as diplomatic talks continue but appear to have made little progress, according to several U.S. official.
The U.S. media reported that the Pentagon has deployed dozens of aircraft to the region, along with several aircraft carriers.
The fighter fleet included F-16, F-22 and F-35 jets. The reports noted that this military buildup would support a far more prolonged operation than last June’s strike on Iranian nuclear facilities during the Israel-Iran conflict, which relied on B-2 bombers.
The reports came as Trump again suggested the United States might strike Iran in a post on his Truth Social site.
He warned Britain against giving up sovereignty over the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, saying the archipelago's Diego Garcia airbase might be needed were Iran not to agree a deal, "in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous regime."
CNN and CBS reported that the U.S. military would be ready to launch strikes against Iran as early as this weekend, though Trump has reportedly not made a final decision yet.
The Wall Street Journal, meanwhile, reported that Trump has been briefed on his military options with "all of them designed to maximize damage,” including a campaign to "kill scores of Iranian political and military leaders, with the goal of overthrowing the government,” unnamed US officials told the newspaper.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also warned on Wednesday there were "many reasons and arguments that one could make for a strike against Iran.”
"Iran would be very wise to make a deal with President Trump."
Iran and the U.S. held a second round of Oman-mediated negotiations on Feb. 17 in Geneva.
Speaking on Feb. 18, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian insisted "We do not want war" but suggested Tehran could not give in to U.S. demands.
Iran's atomic energy chief on Feb. 19 said "no country can deprive Iran of the right" to nuclear enrichment.
"Iran's nuclear programme is proceeding according to the rules of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and no country can deprive Iran of the right to peacefully benefit from this technology," said Iran's atomic energy chief Mohammad Eslami, in a video published in Iranian media.
