The United States is primed for a “highly kinetic” military operation against Iran, following one of its most significant recent military escalations in the Middle East, according to a former senior Pentagon official.
Dana Stroul, who now serves as the research director at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, shared her insights on Sunday as the U.S. and Iran gear up for another round of indirect nuclear negotiations in Oman.
“The U.S. military is equipped for a prolonged, high-intensity campaign if President Trump decides to initiate it, and is also poised to protect allies and partners in the Middle East from Iranian missile threats,” Stroul told Fox News Digital.
She emphasized that the U.S. military can swiftly mobilize resources from across the globe and deliver a formidable show of force in a short timeframe in any region. “There is no ally or adversary that can match what the U.S. has demonstrated during this current military buildup,” she added.
Recently, the world’s largest warship, the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, was spotted departing the Oslofjord at Nesodden and Bygdoy, Norway, on September 17, 2025. (NTB/Lise Aserud via Reuters)
Stroul also noted the strategic shift from the June 2025 strikes on Iranian-linked nuclear sites, explaining that the U.S. has enhanced both its offensive and defensive military capabilities.
“Two US aircraft carriers and their accompanying vessels and air wings were stationed in the Middle East last summer during the 12-day war and the US operation Midnight Hammer,” she explained.
“The addition of the Ford is really important, it expands US offensive capabilities if we go to war with Iran,” she said.
While in June 2025, the US carried out limited but highly targeted strikes against Iranian nuclear infrastructure to degrade key facilities without triggering a regional war, now, Stroul said the force posture is broader and more sustained.
The US has also “increased the number of guided-missile destroyers, fighter aircraft, refuelers, and air defense systems” in the region, she explained.
An F/A-18F Super Hornet, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41, prepares to make an arrested landing on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Pacific Ocean on Aug. 10, 2024. (U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Daniel Kimmelman/Reuters)
The deployment of aircraft carriers such as the USS Gerald R. Ford and USS Abraham Lincoln has assumed heightened strategic importance.
The USS Gerald R. Ford was recently tracked transiting the Strait of Gibraltar eastward, while the USS Abraham Lincoln is operating in the Arabian Sea.
“They will both be in the Middle East CENTCOM theater,” Stroul explained before clarifying that there could be “one in the eastern Mediterranean and the other in the Arabian Gulf.”
“There would probably be a combination of reasons for that based on availability, readiness, proximity to the Middle East.
“The Ford was heading home and directed to turn around,” she added.
While the specific destinations of the carriers have not been publicly disclosed for operational security reasons, their presence alone signals escalatory leverage and deterrence.
Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Hamad Al Busaidi, US President Donald Trump’s Special Representative for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff and U.S. negotiator Jared Kushner meet ahead of the US-Iran talks, in Muscat, the capital of Oman, on February 06, 2026. (f Oman, on FebruarOman Foreign Ministry/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The military buildup comes as indirect diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran continue, with Oman once again serving as a mediator Feb. 26.
Stroul argued that Iran’s leadership is trying to balance brinkmanship with negotiation.
“Iran’s leaders are playing a weak hand by combining saber-rattling about their own capabilities, staging preparations and exercises to signal readiness,” she claimed.
“They are attempting to slow this down by pursuing negotiations. No one should be under any illusions about the reality of US dominance — Iran is completely outmatched in conventional terms,” Stroul said.
Armed NOPO special police units are on the scene as Iranians take to the streets in the downtown Enghelab (Revolution) Square in Tehran, Iran on June 24, 2025, to celebrate the ceasefire after a 12-day war with Israel. (NEGAR/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
“Israel dominated Iranian airspace in one day last year, targeted many of Iran’s security leaders, took out half of its missile arsenal, and the US significantly set back its nuclear program,” Stroul said.
Iran’s long-cultivated 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-cultivated network of proxies across the region is degraded after more than two years of Israeli operations, and they declined to enter the war and support Iran’s defense last summer,” Stroul explained.
“No matter what Iran’s leaders say, Iran is not able to rebuild a decades-long project in a few months.”
“That said, the US military is in a position to execute whatever orders President Trump gives,” she said. “It is not a question of military readiness, but a political decision.”
