WP: Satellite data shows US military build-up near Iran, strikes possible PHOTO

Over the past month, the US military moved dozens of aircraft to bases near Iran and positioned about 12 warships in the Middle East. Satellite imagery and flight-tracking data indicated these deployments were prepared for possible strikes on the Iranian regime, though attacks were not certain, The Washington Post reports.

Officials said the buildup was smaller than last year’s deployment against Iran’s nuclear program but provided President Trump with a credible military threat as he sought negotiations, and it was expected to expand in the coming days.

The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, accompanied by three guided-missile destroyers, entered Central Command’s area on January 26 and was positioned in the North Arabian Sea, each destroyer armed with air defences and Tomahawk missiles. At least eight other warships, including the USS McFaul and USS Mitscher, near the Strait of Hormuz, were also in the region.

The United States had historically kept an aircraft carrier in the Middle East, but none had been present since October. Last month, Trump administration officials redirected the Lincoln from the South China Sea.

In addition to the warships, more than three dozen US aircraft—including fighter jets, drones, and refueling, reconnaissance, and transport planes—moved to regional bases since January 13. At Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, at least a dozen F-15Es and nine A-10C Thunderbolts were deployed, while two HC-130J Combat King aircraft flew from Greece to Jordan. Most aircraft landed at Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

Additional naval activity included the USS Delbert D. Black visiting Israel before moving into the Red Sea, and the USS Bulkeley and USS Roosevelt operating in the eastern Mediterranean. Officials noted the US and Israel were concerned about possible Iranian retaliation, and additional defensive weapons were expected to support US and allied forces.

By Jeyhun Aghazada