Trump Still Weighing Options , US Boosts Military Deployment in West Asia as Strike on Iran Considered

Trump has repeatedly demanded that Iran abandon its nuclear program, including an agreement not to enrich any additional uranium.

New Delhi [India] : According to local media, including CNN and the Wall Street Journal, the US has sent air and naval forces to West Asia. This is the country’s largest deployment to the region since the US invaded Iraq in 2003.

US military is ready to strike Iran as early

According to CNN, the US military is ready to strike Iran as early as this weekend, but President Donald Trump has yet to decide whether he will sanction such strikes.

This comes as Iran and Russia announce combined naval drills in the Sea of Oman to deter “unilateral action” in the region.

Iranian Navy spokesman Rear Admiral Hassan Maghsoudloo was quoted by Iran’s Tasnim news agency as saying that Iran and Russia will hold joint naval manoeuvres on February 19 “in the Gulf of Oman and the Northern Indian Ocean.”

Top US administration national security officials gathered Wednesday in the White House Situation Room to examine the situation in Iran, according to a person familiar with the matter.

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On Wednesday, Trump was also updated by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, on their indirect conversations with Iran that took place the day before in Geneva.

According to the WSJ, the United States is increasing its military footprint in West Asia by sending F-22 and F-35 fighter jets. A second aircraft carrier and command post aircraft are also on their way, according to the report.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that “Iran would be very wise to make a deal” with US President Donald Trump after indirect discussions in Geneva mediated by Oman failed to provide a meaningful breakthrough. Iran’s foreign minister stated that there was an agreement on a “set of guiding principles.”

Trump has repeatedly demanded that Iran abandon

Trump has repeatedly demanded that Iran abandon its nuclear program, including an agreement not to enrich any additional uranium.

In June of last year, the United States and Israel started a 12-day war, striking military and nuclear targets throughout Iran.

On January 26 of this year, Trump stated that a “massive armada” was moving toward Iran and expressed optimism that Tehran would return to the bargaining table and reach a “fair and equitable” agreement, indicating a complete renunciation of nuclear weapons. Tehran responded by warning that any strike on Iran would jeopardise the entire military infrastructure of the US and its allies in West Asia.

According to a New York Times report, the US military buildup in West Asia includes dozens of refuelling tankers rushed to the region by US Central Command, more than 50 additional fighter jets, and two aircraft carrier strike groups, along with their accompanying destroyers, cruisers, and submarines.

The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford was approaching Gibraltar on Wednesday as it prepared to join the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the vicinity, according to the NYT .

Over the past month, the US military has deployed air defences in the West Asian region, including Patriot missile defence and Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) systems capable of intercepting Iranian ballistic missiles.