The Pentagon is assembling what the AP describes as the largest U.S. concentration of warships and aircraft in the Middle East in decades, as President Donald Trump warns of possible military action if nuclear talks with Iran break down. The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group has been operating in the Arabian Sea since late January, and Trump later ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford and accompanying destroyers toward the region—pushing the U.S. footprint to at least sixteen Navy ships and more than ten thousand additional personnel, according to reporting based on U.S. officials and deployments now visible in theater.

In the air, the surge is just as striking. Open-source analysts cited in AP and Defense News tracked more than one hundred fighters—including F-35s, F-15s, F-16s and F-22s—moving from U.S. and European bases toward the Middle East, supported by large flows of tankers and cargo aircraft. A U.S. official also confirmed a dozen F-22s were moved to a base in Israel, while satellite imagery analyzed for AP showed dozens of aircraft concentrated at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, a key hub for deterrence and rapid response.

Diplomacy is still alive—but now it’s happening in the shadow of loaded runways. The Washington Post reports U.S. and Iranian teams wrapped a Geneva round with claims of “significant progress” from the Omani mediator and plans for technical talks in Vienna, even as both sides remain far apart on sanctions and enrichment. Analysts warn the buildup boosts U.S. options, but also compresses decision time—meaning a drone incident, militia strike, or misread warning could turn a standoff into a fight faster than either side can control.