Is the United States preparing for a prolonged military operation against Iran while negotiating a nuclear deal?

The Ford joins the USS Abraham Lincoln, the first US Navy aircraft carrier to be deployed, along with its battle group two weeks ago in the Persian Gulf. What’s more, the Lincoln has already had action against an asset of the Persian State, since on February 3, one of the F-35 fighters carrying the Nimitz-class ship destroyed an Iranian Shahed-139 drone that was heading towards the ship.

Now, according to a report from the Reuters news agency, the United States Army is preparing for the possibility of Sustained military operations against Iran that could last weeks if Trump orders an attack. Two US officials stated that this type of planning contemplates not only attacks on nuclear facilities, but also on state and security power centers which raises the risks of a larger scale conflict in the region.

The officials consulted indicated that these operations would be considerably broader than the Operation Midnight Hammer last June which focused solely on Iranian nuclear facilities, and is now expected a response or retaliation by Iran to any military action by Washington.

This increase in forces occurs in the midst of a second round of indirect talks between representatives of the United States and Iran scheduled for this Tuesday in Geneva mediated by Oman, in an attempt to establish nuclear negotiations and avoid an open conflict.

But is only the United States Army preparing for a possible military intervention in the Islamic Republic of Iran?

Complete military gear

A possible intervention against Iran It would not fall solely on the US Army. According to defense and intelligence analyst Andrés Gómez de la Torre, the use of force in A scenario of this magnitude requires the coordinated articulation of multiple components of the United States Armed Forces.where the Navy and Air Force usually take a leading role, while the Marine Corps can intervene depending on the scope of the operation.

In this scheme, the specialist emphasizes, the previous and parallel work of the intelligence services is decisive. “Especially noticeable is the great activity of the intelligence services, which is not only the CIA, but the DIA, the Defense Intelligence agency that depends on the War Department, and the NSA, electronic and signals intelligencea very old, very silent agency, which sees everything about communications. “When we talk about operations of this magnitude, we are talking about a group of actors, not just the Army,” supported El Comercio.

But the complexity lies not only in the American operational structure, but in the Iranian strategic environment. Gómez de la Torre warns that the Persian State maintains relevant ballistic capabilities, extensive development of drones and the possibility of responding—with conventional weapons—against more than a dozen countries in its regional environment that it considers allies of Washington. It would not be, he emphasizes, a scenario comparable to the Venezuelan one nor a limited surgical operation.