US-Iran Tensions: Military Buildup in Persian Gulf Raises Confrontation Risk

US Military Buildup in the Gulf Raises Tensions with Iran

A diplomatic resolution between the United States and Iran remains a possibility, but a significant US military buildup in the Persian Gulf is rapidly progressing. Experts suggest the deployment is intended to provide President Donald Trump with military options should he choose to respond to Tehran’s failure to reach a nuclear agreement and its crackdown on protesters.

Thousands of demonstrators were reportedly killed by Iranian security forces in January, following protests that began in late December 2025 over the sharp decline in the value of the Iranian currency.

“The gathering of forces is a point of pressure applied by the United States on Iran to come to a negotiated agreement,” said Amin Tarzi, professor of strategic studies at Marine Corps War College. He described the current US military posture in the Gulf as “robust,” with “naval and defensive air defense capabilities, plus offensive air components.”

While the scale of the current buildup may not be the largest seen in the region – where the US has previously engaged in major operations against Iraq in 1991 and 2003 – Tarzi emphasized that the nature of warfare has changed. “These are assets that have more capability but a much smaller footprint,” he said.

‘Massive Armada’

Late in January, President Trump reiterated his demand that Tehran face a “far worse” attack than the one targeting its nuclear facilities in June if it does not agree to a new nuclear deal. He stated that a “massive armada” was en route to Iran, capable of fulfilling its mission “with speed and violence.”

The fleet is spearheaded by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, accompanied by several advanced warships forming a carrier strike group. Last week, an aircraft from the strike group reportedly shot down an Iranian drone.

David Des Roches, a professor at Washington’s Thayer Marshall Institute, identified several multi-role ships already in the Persian Gulf theater, including the USS Delbert D. Black, USS Mitscher, and USS McFaul. These vessels are equipped to launch missile strikes and possess advanced naval and air defense capabilities.

On February 10, President Trump indicated he might dispatch a second aircraft carrier strike group to the region should negotiations with Iran fail.

Des Roches noted that the current US forces positioned around Iran are more agile. “[The buildup] is much smaller, and it’s much easier to scale up and scale down,” he said. He also suggested that the US could potentially redeploy strategic B2 bombers, similar to their use in the June 2025 strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities. “These can come from the United States or Diego Garcia,” he added, referring to the joint US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean.

CENTCOM Area of Responsibility

The Gulf region falls within the area of operations for US Central Command (CENTCOM). Several Sunni Arab monarchies – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar – host US army, air force, and naval bases. The region is currently estimated to have up to 40,000 US troops.

CENTCOM’s forward headquarters is located at Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which was targeted by Iran in retaliation for the June 2025 air strikes. The US Navy’s Fifth Fleet is based in Bahrain, responsible for securing critical shipping lanes in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea.

Additional US bases and ships are located in Jordan, the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean. In Iraq and Syria, the US military presence is primarily focused on counterterrorism operations against the Islamic State extremist group.

“The massive increase in naval presence, in air presence, in air defenses, does signal the United States is very serious,” said Brian Carter, the research manager at the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute. He explained that Washington is deploying air defense platforms to protect its bases and allies from potential Iranian attacks.

“The navy fits into that picture as well, because naval ships can be armed with air-to-air or surface-to-air interceptors to shoot down incoming missiles,” he said.

Across the Middle East, the US has bolstered its air and missile defenses. In recent weeks, additional batteries of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) and Patriot missile defense systems have been deployed to Gulf Arab nations and Jordan. Patriot systems are effective against low-flying, short-range projectiles, while THAAD is designed to intercept ballistic missiles at high altitudes.

Carter highlighted the disparity in defensive capabilities, stating that the US possesses a strong defensive capacity due to investments made over the past decade. “That’s a kind of important asymmetry that we should keep in mind as we’re thinking about strikes going forward,” he said.