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The United States has deployed air and naval forces to West Asia, local media, including the Wall Street Journal and CNN among others, reported on Thursday, marking the most substantive deployment to the region since US had invaded Iraq in the year 2003.
The US military is prepared to strike Iran as early as this weekend, though President Donald Trump has yet to make a final decision on whether he'll authorise such actions, CNN said, citing sources familiar with the matter. This comes amidst Iran and Russia announcing joint naval drills in the Sea of Oman to deter any "unilateral action" in the region. Iranian Navy's spokesman Rear Admiral Hassan Maghsoudloo was cited by Iran's Tasnim news agency as saying that Joint naval exercises of Iran and Russia will be held on February 19 "in the Gulf of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean." Top US administration national security officials met Wednesday in the White House Situation Room to discuss the situation in Iran, the American broadcaster cited a person familiar with the meeting as saying. Trump was also briefed on Wednesday by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, about their indirect talks with Iran that occurred a day earlier in Geneva. The WSJ report noted that the US is continuing to build up its military presence in West Asia, sending F-22 and F-35 fighter jets. In addition, a second aircraft carrier and command post aircraft are en route, it said. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had said on Wednesday that "Iran would be very wise to make a deal" with US President Donald Trump, after indirect talks in Geneva mediated by Oman, ended without a significant breakthrough. Iran's foreign minister said there was an agreement on a "set of guiding principles." Trump has repeatedly demanded that Iran give up its nuclear program, including agreeing not to enrich any more uranium. In June last year, the US and the Israel had launched a 12-day war, conducting strikes on military and nuclear sites across Iran. Trump had on January 26 this year said that a "massive armada" was heading toward Iran andexpressed hope that Tehran would return to the negotiating table and conclude a "fair and equitable" deal, implying a complete renunciation of nuclear weapons. In response, Tehran warned that any attack on Iran will entail threats to the United States and its allies' entire military infrastructure in West Asia. A NYT report cited US officials as saying that the US military buildup in the West Asia includes dozens of refueling tankers, rushed to the region by United States Central Command, more than 50 additional fighter jets, and two aircraft carrier strike groups, complete with their accompanying destroyers, cruisers and submarines. The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford was approaching Gibraltar on Wednesday as it made its way to join the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the region, the NYT said. Over the past month, the US military has moved into the West Asian region air defences -- including Patriot missile defense and Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) systems- which can intercept Iranian ballistic missiles. (ANI)
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