US positioned for potential ‘kinetic’ Iran campaign in Middle East

The US is ready for a “highly kinetic” campaign against Iran after it launched one of its largest recent military build-ups in the Middle East, a former senior Pentagon official has claimed.

Dana StroulMr. Weiger, now research director at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, made the assessment on Sunday as Washington and Tehran prepared for a second round of indirect nuclear talks in Oman.

“The U.S. military is prepared for sustained, highly mobile action if President Trump gives the order, and it is also prepared to protect its allies and partners in the Middle East from Iran’s missiles,” Stroul told Fox News Digital.

“The U.S. military can quickly reposition assets from around the world and deploy overwhelmingly lethal force to a single region in a short period of time,” he said, emphasizing that “there is no ally or adversary in this current configuration capable of doing what we have seen from the United States.”

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Explaining how the current stance is different from the attacks against Iran-related nuclear targets in June 2025, Stroul said that the USA has expanded its offensive and defensive capabilities.

“Last summer, during the 12-day war and the US operation Midnight Hammer, two US aircraft carriers and their accompanying ships and air wings were deployed in the Middle East.”

“The addition of Ford is really important; it will expand U.S. offensive capabilities if we go to war with Iran,” he said.

While in June 2025 the United States carried out limited but highly targeted strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure to disrupt key facilities without triggering a regional war, Stroul said the force posture is now broader and more permanent.

He announced that the United States also “increased the number of guided missile destroyers, warplanes, refuelers and air defense systems” in the region.

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An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41 prepares for an aborted landing on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Pacific Ocean, Aug. 10, 2024. (U.S. Navy/Mass Communications Specialist Seaman Apprentice Daniel Kimmelman/Reuters)

The deployment of aircraft carriers such as USS Gerald R. Ford and USS Abraham Lincoln has been of increasing strategic importance.

USS Gerald R. Ford was recently spotted passing eastward through the Strait of Gibraltar; USS Abraham Lincoln operates in the Arabian Sea.

“They will both be in the Middle East CENTCOM theater,” Stroul explained, before explaining that “one could be in the Eastern Mediterranean and the other in the Persian Gulf.”

“There are a number of reasons for this, possibly based on availability, readiness and proximity to the Middle East.

“Ford was heading home and was directed to turn back,” he added.

While the carriers’ specific destinations have not been publicly disclosed for operational security reasons, their presence alone indicates increased pressure and deterrence.

WITKOFF WARNED THAT IRAN WAS ‘ONE WEEK AWAY’ FROM ‘BOMB-MAKING MATERIAL’ WHILE WELCOME TO TRUMP’S ACTION

Omani Foreign Minister Sayyed Badr Hamad Al Busaidi, US President Donald Trump’s Special Representative for the Middle East Steve Witkoff and US negotiator Jared Kushner met in Muscat, the capital of Oman, on February 6, 2026, before the US-Iran talks. (f Oman, in February Oman Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Anatolia via Getty Images)

The military reinforcement took place as indirect diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran continued, with Oman acting as a mediator once again on February 26.

Stroul argued that the Iranian leadership is trying to balance tensions through negotiation.

“Iran’s leaders are playing a weak hand by rattling swords about their own capabilities, making preparations and drills that signal their readiness,” he claimed.

“They are trying to slow this down by continuing negotiations. No one should be under any illusion about the reality of US dominance; Iran is completely lagging behind in the traditional sense,” Stroul said. he said.

MADE FOR WEEKS OF WAR: INSIDE THE FIREPOWER POSITIONED BY THE USA IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Armed NOPO special police units are on the scene as Iranians take to the streets of downtown Enghelab (Revolution) Square in Tehran, Iran, on June 24, 2025, to celebrate a ceasefire after a 12-day war with Israel. (NEGAR/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

“In one day last year, Israel seized Iranian airspace, targeted most of Iran’s security leaders, destroyed half of its missile arsenal, and significantly degraded the U.S. nuclear program,” Stroul said.

Iran’s long-developed network of proxies across the region, including Hezbollah, Shiite militias in Iraq and elements in Syria, has also been weakened after sustained Israeli military pressure.

“Iran’s long-established network of proxies across the region broke down after more than two years of Israeli operations, and last summer they refused to go to war and support Iran’s defense,” Stroul said.

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“No matter what Iranian leaders say, Iran cannot rebuild a decades-old project in a few months.”

“However, the US military is in a position to carry out any orders given by President Trump,” he said. “This is not a matter of military preparation, it is a political decision.”