The U.S. is in position for a "highly kinetic" campaign against Iran after launching one of its largest recent military buildups in the Middle East, a former senior Pentagon official has claimed.

Dana Stroul, now research director at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, made the assessment Sunday as Washington and Tehran prepare for a second round of indirect nuclear talks in Oman.

"The US military is ready for a sustained, highly kinetic campaign should President Trump order it, and also prepared to defend allies and partners in the Middle East from Iran's missiles," Stroul told Fox News Digital.

"The US military can rapidly reposition assets from all over the world and deploy overwhelmingly lethal force in a short period of time to one theater," she said before highlighting how there is "no ally or enemy capable of what we have seen from the US in this current buildup."

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Describing how the current posture differs from the June 2025 strikes on Iranian-linked nuclear targets, Stroul said the U.S. has expanded its offensive and defensive capabilities.

"Two US aircraft carriers and their accompanying vessels and air wings were stationed in the Middle East last summer during the 12-day war and the US operation Midnight Hammer," she explained.

"The addition of the Ford is really important, it expands US offensive capabilities if we go to war with Iran," she said.

While in June 2025, the US carried out limited but highly targeted strikes against Iranian nuclear infrastructure to degrade key facilities without triggering a regional war, now, Stroul said the force posture is broader and more sustained.

The US has also "increased the number of guided-missile destroyers, fighter aircraft, refuelers, and air defense systems" in the region, she explained.

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The deployment of aircraft carriers such as the USS Gerald R. Ford and USS Abraham Lincoln has assumed heightened strategic importance.

The USS Gerald R. Ford was recently tracked transiting the Strait of Gibraltar eastward, while the USS Abraham Lincoln is operating in the Arabian Sea.

"They will both be in the Middle East CENTCOM theater," Stroul explained before clarifying that there could be "one in the eastern Mediterranean and the other in the Arabian Gulf."

"There would probably be a combination of reasons for that based on availability, readiness, proximity to the Middle East.

"The Ford was heading home and directed to turn around," she added.

While the specific destinations of the carriers have not been publicly disclosed for operational security reasons, their presence alone signals escalatory leverage and deterrence.

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The military buildup comes as indirect diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran continue, with Oman once again serving as a mediator Feb. 26.  

Stroul argued that Iran’s leadership is trying to balance brinkmanship with negotiation.

"Iran's leaders are playing a weak hand by combining saber-rattling about their own capabilities, staging preparations and exercises to signal readiness," she claimed.

"They are attempting to slow this down by pursuing negotiations. No one should be under any illusions about the reality of US dominance — Iran is completely outmatched in conventional terms," Stroul said.

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"Israel dominated Iranian airspace in one day last year, targeted many of Iran's security leaders, took out half of its missile arsenal, and the US significantly set back its nuclear program," Stroul said.

Iran’s long-cultivated network of proxies across the region — including Hezbollah, Shiite militias in Iraq, and elements in Syria — has also been weakened after sustained Israeli military pressure.

"Iran's long-cultivated network of proxies across the region is degraded after more than two years of Israeli operations, and they declined to enter the war and support Iran's defense last summer," Stroul explained.

"No matter what Iran's leaders say, Iran is not able to rebuild a decades-long project in a few months."

"That said, the US military is in a position to execute whatever orders President Trump gives," she said. "It is not a question of military readiness, but a political decision."

Iran launched live-fire naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday in preparation for potential security and military threats in the strategic waterway, according to the country’s state-run IRNA news agency.

The drill, called "Smart Control of the Strait of Hormuz," was led by the naval forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) under the supervision of IRGC Commander in Chief Maj. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, according to Iran International.

State media said the exercise was organized to assess the readiness of operational units, review security plans and rehearse scenarios for responding to any security and military threats in the area.

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The exercises came within hours of renewed diplomatic efforts starting in Geneva between the U.S. and Iran that are aimed at reviving negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.

"I am in Geneva with real ideas to achieve a fair and equitable deal," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X on Monday "What is not on the table: submission before threats," he said.

President Donald Trump has ordered a buildup of U.S. military forces in the Middle East and has threatened to strike Iran if its leadership does not agree to a deal on its nuclear program.

On Friday, Trump also offered an endorsement of regime change in Tehran and said it would be the "best thing that could happen" for Iran.

U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, went on to show U.S. military presence in the region Monday.

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In a post on X, it shared images of EA-18G Growlers from Electronic Attack Squadron 133 and F-35C Lightning IIs from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314 preparing for launch from the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln.

"Operating in international waters in the Middle East, the aircraft carrier conducts around-the-clock flight operations in support of regional security," the post said.

The Pentagon has been building up what Trump has described as an "armada" in the region.

The USS Abraham Lincoln is present flanked by three warships equipped with Tomahawk missiles and is at the center of a broader U.S. naval buildup in the region.

Meanwhile, Tehran said the second round of talks would be held on Tuesday "with the mediation and good offices of Oman."

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Negotiations restarted in Muscat on Feb. 6, after previous talks collapsed when Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran in June that sparked a 12-day war and escalated tensions across the region.

On Monday, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said there was "significant and legitimate doubt that the Iranians will ever agree to something that would cause them to lay down any ambitions of nuclear weaponry."

Trump also told reporters Monday, "I'll be involved in those talks indirectly, and they'll be very important, and we'll see what can happen." 

He added, "I would say they're bad negotiators because we could have had a deal instead of sending the B2's to knock out their nuclear potential. I hope they're going to be more reasonable. They want to make a deal."

The Department of War said Sunday that U.S. forces interdicted a vessel in the Indo-Pacific after it attempted to evade a quarantine order issued by the Trump administration.

In a statement on X, the War Department said the Veronica III was boarded without incident while it was operating in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility.

"The vessel tried to defy President Trump’s quarantine — hoping to slip away. We tracked it from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, closed the distance, and shut it down. No other nation has the reach, endurance or will to do this," the government account wrote.

"International waters are not sanctuary. By land, air or sea, we will find you and deliver justice," it added. "The Department of War will deny illicit actors and their proxies freedom of movement in the maritime domain."

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The Veronica III is the latest in a series of high-profile maritime seizures by the U.S. military aimed at enforcing sanctions and curbing the export of Venezuelan oil.

President Donald Trump announced a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going in and out of Venezuela in mid-December, as Washington increased its naval presence in the Caribbean to put pressure on now-former Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.

According to OpenSanctions, the Veronica III is listed on the U.S. Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals sanctions list.

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The tanker, a large crude oil carrier built in 2006 and flagged in Panama, has been linked to the transport of hundreds of thousands of metric tons of sanctioned Iranian oil and is affiliated with a Chinese ship-management company that has also been sanctioned.

OpenSanctions notes that the ship has previously sailed under different names and flags as part of efforts to evade sanctions and disguise its activities at sea.

The Veronica III was among the vessels sanctioned by Treasury in December 2024 as part of a broader action targeting 35 other entities and tankers involved in transporting illicit Iranian oil to foreign markets.