US sends warplanes, ships to the Middle East in warning to Iran

The Pentagon is rapidly expanding its forces in the Middle East as the US military continues air strikes against Houthi militants in Yemen and steps up its pressure on Iran.

The USS Carl Vinson is usually assigned to Asia but is expected to arrive in the Middle East within a couple of weeks. Picture: Yonhap/AFP.

The Pentagon is rapidly expanding its forces in the Middle East as the US military continues air strikes against Houthi militants in Yemen and steps up its pressure on Iran, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

President Trump has threatened in recent days to bomb Iran if Tehran doesn’t make a deal to roll back its nuclear program. But two officials said that the aim of the current deployment is to bolster the US campaign in Yemen and deter Iran. The deployments aren’t preparation for an imminent Iran attack, the officials said.

The build-up includes F-35 combat jets, which are joining B-2 bombers and Predator drones in the region, according to US officials familiar with the planning.

The US will soon have two carrier strike groups in the region – the USS Harry S. Truman, which has been operating in the Middle East since last fall, and USS Carl Vinson, which is usually assigned to Asia and is expected to arrive within two weeks.

Along with the carriers, the strike groups include cruise missile-carrying destroyers and other warships. The US also has sent Patriot antimissile batteries to defend US air bases and nearby allies, the officials said.

The Arleigh-Burke class guided missile destroyers USS Sterett (front) and the USS Rafael Peralta (behind) are seen from the deck of the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier as they join a three-day maritime exercise. Picture; AFP.

The Trump administration launched an air campaign against the Houthis on March 15 and has continued daily strikes around the Yemeni capital of San’a and other locations, targeting the group’s leaders and military assets.

On Tuesday, the Houthis said they shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone amid ongoing US strikes in Yemen. The Pentagon was aware of the claim but declined to comment. Earlier this week, the Houthis launched missiles toward Israel, which were intercepted.

In addition to threatening Iran with bombing if it doesn’t negotiate a nuclear agreement, the White House has warned it will hold Tehran accountable if the Houthis fire at US forces.

Iran has provided arms and training to the Houthis. Talks between the US and Iran on Tehran’s nuclear program have yet to be arranged.

“The United States and its partners … are prepared to respond to any state or nonstate actor seeking to broaden or escalate conflict in the region,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement Tuesday. “Should Iran or its proxies threaten American personnel and interests in the region, the United States will take decisive action to defend our people.”

This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows four B-2 stealth bombers parked at Camp Thunder Cove in Diego Garcia as a US air strike campaign continues against Yemen's Houthi rebels. Picture: Planet Labs PBC via AP.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Qalibaf on Friday said Iran would retaliate against any US strike on Iran by attacking American interests in the Middle East.

“If the Americans attack the sanctity of Iran, the entire region will blow up like a spark in an ammunition dump,” Qalibaf said in a speech in Tehran.

An Iranian official said the response would be focused on US bases in the Persian Gulf. “Each American soldier will be an individual target,” he said.

Some experts believe that Iran is wary of initiating a major conflict with Trump, who ordered the killing of Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the paramilitary Quds Force, in a January 2020 air strike near the Baghdad airport.

Army Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, the head of the US Central Command, which is responsible for military operations in the Middle East, has long advocated for a more forceful US response to Houthi attacks on ships transiting the Red Sea and nearby sea lanes, which began shortly after Israel’s war in Gaza began in 2023.

The Houthis, who control large swathes of Yemen, stopped their attacks earlier this year after a brief ceasefire in Gaza, but said they would resume them once the deal collapsed and Israel relaunched its military operation.

The Biden administration, which was trying to avoid a wider Middle East war as Israel and Hamas clashed, sent US warships to try to protect international shipping and conducted strikes against the Houthis. But the Trump administration has been more aggressive and has expanded its list of targets to include Houthi military leaders.

The new deployments underscore that the Middle East remains a major focus of concern for the Pentagon, despite its multiyear push to shift forces to the Pacific region to deter threats from China.

US bases in Europe and the Middle East have witnessed a flurry of activity in recent days as the US and Iran traded warnings in recent days.

B-2 bombers have been deployed to an air base in Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean. The Biden administration also used B-2s to strike Houthi underground weapon storage sites in Yemen in October.

A steady stream of Air Force cargo planes and refuelling tankers have been flying to the Middle East from Europe, Asia and the US, according to flight-tracking data.

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