The White House is stepping up its effort to remove the government of Iran by imposing new sanctions on oil shipping and engaging in a significant military buildup that could be the prelude to a war on the Islamic Republic.
“We’re watching Iran. We have a big force going towards Iran,” President Donald Trump said on Thursday. “And maybe we won’t have to use it. We have a lot of ships going that direction. Just in case, we have a big flotilla going in that direction, and we’ll see what happens.”
The military buildup includes the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group, F-15s, and advanced air defense systems. Trump ordered a similar package of military assets to the Middle East before Israel launched an aggressive war against Iran in June.
The US military was prepared to strike Iran earlier this month, but Trump declined to give the order after he was convinced, in part by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that the planned attack would not topple the Iranian government, and US forces would struggle to defeat the counterattack.
The additional warships, fighter jets, and air defenses will give Washington more options for a larger attack on Iran and the ability to shoot down Iranian missiles targeting US forces and Israel.
Tehran has vowed to target Israel and US military bases if Iran is attacked. Several Iranian missiles hit Israel during the conflict in June.
The White House is also ramping up the economic war against Iran. On Friday, the US Treasury slapped sanctions on nine ships suspected of carrying sanctioned Iranian oil. The White House has seized several tankers carrying sanctioned Venezuelan oil.
