US Air and Naval Surge Raises Iran Strike Risk, but Peace Remains Possible - Military Expert
12:58 GMT 19.02.2026 (Updated: 13:00 GMT 19.02.2026)
© AP Photo / Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ridge Leoni
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The probability of US aggression against Iran is high, although a window of opportunity for a peaceful resolution still exists, military expert Yury Lyamin, senior research fellow at the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST), tells Sputnik.
The expert points out that the US is assembling a large integrated force in the region:
F-22, F-35, F-15 and F-16 fighter jets
E/A-18G electronic warfare aircraft
A-10 ground-attack aircraft
EA-11A BACN communications relay aircraft
P-8A maritime patrol aircraft
RC-135V signals intelligence aircraft
E-3 airborne early warning and control (AWACS) aircraft
Numerous KC-135 and KC-46 aerial refueling tankers
THAAD missile defense systems and Patriot air defense systems
Nuclear-powered aircraft carriers Abraham Lincoln and Gerald R. Ford, Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, etc.
Strategic bombers ranging from the B-52H to the B-2A are likely to be deployed at the event of conflict
"The stronger the US force buildup becomes, the more likely it is that the US may attempt to deliver an immediate, maximum-intensity missile strike against the Iranian leadership and command structure, key command posts and communications centers, known missile positions, and the entrances to underground missile bases, etc.," Lyamin says.
It is still unclear what path will be chosen by Washington, according to the pundit.
How could Iran respond?
"For Iran, any delay would be dangerous, and it needs to make every effort to detect the earliest signs of a US attack and launch retaliatory strikes at the first indication that hostilities have begun," the military expert warns.
The US maintains an extensive network of military bases and installations in the region:
Qatar
Kuwait
Bahrain
UAE
Saudi Arabia
Iraq (including Iraqi Kurdistan)
Turkiye
Jordan
In the event of war, Iran is expected to strike all US bases within the range of its missiles and drones, according to the expert.
