Heading for war? 5 indications that Trump will soon attack Iran

The USA has not deployed this many air forces to the Middle East since the Iraq War in 2003: Donald Trump is laying the groundwork for an attack on Iran. Officially, nothing has been decided yet, but the course is set for war, as these 5 points show.

What should worry the mullahs most are the tanker planes that the Pentagon is deploying. Some of them travel halfway around the world when they take off from bases in California and later fly towards Europe with other KC-135Rs and KC-46As from Florida and other US bases.

The US Air Force's springboard is Lajes Air Base in the Azores, from where they continue on to US bases in the UK, Spain, Bulgaria or the Middle East. Over the Mediterranean, the tankers form chains that fighter jets from Western Europe follow eastwards into the crisis area.

The following map shows how five KC-135 tankers take off from Lakenheath Air Force Base in the UK, position themselves over the Mediterranean and accompany the deployment of 17 F-35A fighter jets.

The tanker aircraft will not only enable the transfer of fighter jets, but also of men and material brought in by the huge C-17A Globemaster IIIs, of which a striking number are currently in service - see below.

Another aircraft that should make Tehran nervous is the Bombardier E-11A. The approximately 30-meter-long aircraft is not strictly speaking a large aircraft, but would be indispensable in the event of an attack.

It acts as a battlefield airborne communications node. Following relocations from the USA, five of the eight American E-11As are now in Europe or the Middle East.

This fleet of specialists is rounded off by the AWACS aircraft that the Pentagon is deploying to the Middle East. As the availability of these airborne radar stations is limited, two E-3B/C Sentry aircraft will have to be flown from Alaska to the area of operations via the UK.

The US Navy's aircraft carriers are of course also part of the large-scale equipment. The USS Abraham Lincoln is already on site: According to "Forbes", its group currently includes at least six destroyers, three Littoral Combat Ships for coastal combat and a submarine.

In the meantime, the Pentagon has deployed a second aircraft carrier battle group: The USS Gerald R Ford and its escorts are coming to the region from the Caribbean, keeping the Automatic Identification System (AIS) off so as not to provide information to Iran.

However, when this group comes to a chokepoint, the signal is sent to avoid collision: Therefore, we know that the Ford has just passed Gibraltar and will probably arrive in the area of operations this weekend.

In the event of a US attack, Iran is threatening to retaliate: on the map below, you can see the US bases in the Middle East as red dots and the range of Tehran's missiles as a dotted line.

The Wall Street Journal reported on February 1 that the Pentagon is expanding air defense at these bases and moving the Patriot and THAAD systems to Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. The fact that these bases are being continuously reinforced is implied by the constant traffic of C-17 transporters.

Dozens of additional F-35, F-22 and F-15E fighter jets have also been stationed at these bases. In addition, there are 36 F-16CJs from the South Carolina Air National Guard and from Spangdahlem Air Basein Germany - 24 of them in the "Wild Weasel" configuration. The jets are used to suppress and destroy enemy air defenses.

On the one hand, the USA and Iran are currently negotiating a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Geneva. On the other hand, media sources suggest that an attack is likely. "CBS News" reports that Trump is examining various options: One is an attack as early as February 21.

A decision has not yet been made. But: "The boss is fed up," reveals an advisor to Axios."Some people close to him are warning him about a war with Iran, but I think there is a 90% chance that we will see military action in the next few weeks."

This would be the start of a massive campaign that could last for weeks, it continues. The "Jerusalem Post", on the other hand, criticizes the "noise" that the international media is currently making: The Israeli newspaper also expects an attack, but says it does not necessarily have to take place in the coming days.

Israel is increasing its alert level and stepping up its military preparations, reports CNN, citing two Israeli sources. The army is prepared: "If we are attacked, we will respond forcefully," affirms spokesman Avichay Adraee.

Israel must not only expect to be attacked by Iranian missiles, but is also likely to attack itself if the USA does - as it did during the Twelfth Day War last June, when Tehran's nuclear program was targeted.

Attack on IranTrump announces new talks - and threatens once again +++ Panic in the Strait of Hormuz

On February 28, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to travel to Jerusalem to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It remains to be seen whether there will already be a war or whether the arms race will only be discussed then.

Iran is also preparing for the failure of diplomatic efforts. On February 17, Tehran temporarily closed the Strait of Hormuz for the first time since the 1980s in order to hold a naval maneuver. Around a fifth of the world's oil trade passes through this waterway.

An exercise in the Gulf of Oman has been scheduled for February 19, in which Russia is also taking part. The Russian corvette Stoiki is already in Iranian waters. However, according to "The War Zone", experts rule out that this could have a deterrent effect on Washington.

Reuters also reports that Iran is fortifying military facilities and nuclear program installations. Satellite images would show this.

Finally, the question remains: what is the USA's goal? Washington may want to finish what was started in June 2025: the destruction of the nuclear program from the air.

Forcing a regime change is difficult without ground troops. Certainly, the Air Force and Navy could roll a number of political and military heads in an air campaign, but whether that would be enough to topple the mullahs seems questionable.

And if it were: Who would take power? The Revolutionary Guards? Then Iran would be back to square one.