US reinforces Middle East military footprint as tensions with Iran escalate

In the face of explicit threats directed at Iran by US President Donald Trump, the American military began mobilizing significant assets to the Middle East over the past month.

Over the weekend, General Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command (CENTCOM), visited Israel to conduct coordination meetings regarding a potential strike against Iran.

According to data compiled by Haaretz from open-source intelligence, a squadron of F-15 fighter jets was recently deployed to Jordan, departing from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in the US and RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom. This specific squadron had previously been stationed in Jordan during earlier Iranian escalations. During those missions, the squadron’s pilots were credited with intercepting dozens of Iranian drones bound for Israel, for which they received several commendations.

American sources familiar with the matter claim the current deployment is “merely a rotation” intended to replace other aircraft scheduled to depart Jordan in 2025. However, open-source tracking has yet to observe any squadrons returning to the UK or the US, suggesting that approximately 35 F-15 jets are currently concentrated in Jordan. These aircraft appear to be positioned primarily to bolster defensive capabilities rather than to spearhead an offensive against Iran.

The arrival of these fighter jets in recent weeks has been supported by approximately 40 transport and logistics flights, along with roughly 10 aerial refueling tankers, directed toward bases in Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Simultaneously, the British Royal Air Force announced the deployment of several Typhoon fighter jets to Qatar, describing the move as strictly “defensive.”

Within the last 48 hours, open-source tracking systems also monitored roughly ten additional flights from Fort Hood, Texas, to Kuwait. Fort Hood serves as the home base for two THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) batteries. However, it remains unclear whether the US has actually deployed these specific air defense systems to Israel.

Senior US officials told the Wall Street Journal last week that there are plans to deploy additional THAAD and Patriot missile defense batteries to the Middle East to protect critical US installations in the Gulf. These sites include the CENTCOM headquarters at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar and the US 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain.

Furthermore, the US announced last week that the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group was transiting from the South China Sea toward the Middle East. The group passed through the Strait of Malacca last Tuesday. Based on its last recorded speed of 20 knots off the coast of Indonesia, the strike group should have already reached the vicinity of the Arabian Peninsula near Iran. The exact current coordinates of the group have not yet been disclosed in open-source reports. The carrier is escorted by three destroyers, and the entire strike group possesses the collective firepower of dozens of fighter jets and hundreds of cruise missiles.

Last week, reports also indicated the deployment of several additional US destroyers equipped with ballistic missile defense systems—assets that proved critical in assisting Israel during previous Iranian retaliatory strikes.

Contrary to some media reports, no unusual activity has been recorded at the Diego Garcia base in the heart of the Indian Ocean. Furthermore, there is no evidence from open-source data or satellite imagery suggesting that B-52 or B-2 bombers have been dispatched to the island, as has occurred during previous periods of heightened tension with Iran.

It is also noteworthy that the volume of air transport to the Middle East over the past month—including ammunition and logistics—remains significantly lower than the levels observed during previous preparations against Iran, such as in April and October 2024, or during the 12-day conflict in June 2025.

However, it is highly probable that the US is employing operational security and deception measures, meaning not all military activity is visible or traceable. For instance, during the strike on Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025, the US announced that B-2 bombers were heading west toward the Pacific Ocean; in reality, the primary strike force secretly took off to the east, refueling mid-flight to execute a surprise attack on Iran.