The US has added six more E-3 spy planes sent to the region. The move, along with the presence of a major cruise missile-firing submarine in the region, signals the US is armed and ready for conflict.
Generally, the arrival of E3s to a region marks a readiness of the US to launch strikes on enemy targets. A souce told The Mirror: “Large E-3 deployments are widely seen as a late-stage indicator ahead of potential major air operations.”
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“The fact that they will be in position somewhere in the Middle East soon means strongly that the United States military is ready for war,” the source said.
Six E-3 Sentry planes include two from Alaska via RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom and four from Oklahoma, heading to Ramstein in Germany. Both formations will be be moved up within the Middle East.
It is also believed a submarine loaded with Tomahawk missiles is lurking in the Gulf. The submarine played a major role in Operation Midnight Hammer in June 2025 against Tehran’s nuclear plants.
The US is also believed to have high volumes of hardware either parked off Oman as part of the US fleet and fighter jets moving up into bases in the Middle East.
It is understood that a squadron of F-22 Raptors has already been sent to a base in Jordan to help defend Israel against possible Iranian missile attacks.
US President Donald Trump first threatened military action against Tehran’s regime in January after protesters in the Middle Eastern country were met with a brutal crackdown. Thousands of Iranians were killed.
At the time President Trump, told protesters that his country “will come to their rescue” if the government “violently kills peaceful protesters”.
Since then, the row between the two countries has been over nuclear and ballistic weapons.
Iran has agreed to discuss its atomic programme but refuses to deal with its ballistic missiles policy, a red line for US-ally Israel.
Despite the threat of war, Tehran has remained defiant.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has told President Trump in a message: “A warship is a dangerous device,” he said. “But more dangerous than that is a weapon that can send that warship deep under the sea.”
President Trump has warned Tehran that failure to reach an agreement could lead to strikes.
He also said that he could reveal where the Iranian leader was living and that he would not feel safe if he were Supreme Leader Khamenei.