A second American military official said that U.S. Central Command is keeping two aircraft carriers deployed in the Middle East at a considerable distance from Iran, to protect them from becoming a target. Officials also noted that it was difficult to hit an aircraft carrier traveling at speed with a ballistic missile. In addition, the carriers are escorted by destroyers, which have the ability to shoot down ballistic missiles.
There are American troops at bases in Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. U.S. officials said that hundreds of troops had been moved from Al Udeid base in Qatar and a cluster of U.S. bases in Bahrain that house the Navy’s Fifth Fleet for other missions and operations.
At least publicly, Trump administration officials insist that they remain committed to seeing if there is a diplomatic end to the standoff, one that could see Iran agreeing to new restrictions on its nuclear program. Privately, however, they say it is difficult to see what Iran may offer in the near term that could dissuade Mr. Trump from committing to another military campaign.
During his first 13 months in office, Mr. Trump has ordered seven military attacks in other countries, and he has been emboldened by the successful outcome of the military’s most recent operation — the commando mission in Venezuela in early January that captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife and brought them to the United States.
Mr. Trump’s confidence is reflected in his blustery rhetoric aimed at Iran, pledging in one social media post in late January that “the next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again.”
That day, Iran’s mission to the U.N. responded with a warning of its own.
“If pushed,” it said in a statement, Iran “will defend itself and respond like never before!”
Tyler Pager contributed reporting.