US deploys largest air force in Middle East since 2003 Iraq invasion

The U.S. is sending significant numbers of jet fighters and support aircraft to the Middle East, assembling the greatest amount of air power in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, The Wall Street Journal writes.

As noted, the United States is ready to take action against Iran, but President Donald Trump has not yet decided whether to strike, and if he does, what the main objective would be — to halt Iran’s nuclear program, destroy its missile forces, or topple the regime.

The firepower will give the US the option of carrying out a sustained, weekslong air war against Iran instead of the strike the US carried out in June against three Iranian nuclear sites, US officials said.

Representatives from the US and Iran met in Geneva this week to negotiate a possible deal over Iranian enrichment of uranium. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said there had been “a little bit of progress” in those talks, but added, “We’re still very far apart on some issues.” Iran is expected to offer a more detailed proposal to the US in the next few weeks, Leavitt said.

The publication notes that the US has not deployed all of its weapons in the Middle East that could strike Iran, and it does not necessarily need to. B-2 stealth bombers have long trained to carry out Middle East missions directly from the US, as they did in June against Iran’s nuclear facilities, or from the joint US-UK base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

Trump has repeatedly threatened an attack on Iran should negotiations fail. “I don’t think they want the consequences of not making a deal,” he told reporters Monday.