US president Donald Trump has assembled a naval armada in the Arabian Sea and dispatched additional war planes to bases in the Gulf. The Trump administration, meanwhile, has assembled a naval armada in the Arabian Sea and dispatched additional war planes to bases in the Gulf. In addition, two aircraft carriers – the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald R Ford – hold dozens of planes and helicopters. This is largest US regional military build-up since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which toppled the country’s president Saddam Hussein. Witkoff and Kushner have urged Trump to “give diplomacy a chance,” though sources say the US president is “leaning towards a strike.”

Source: The Irish Times February 25, 2026 04:05 UTC