Posts Tagged ‘USS Carl Vinson’

Iran: Uncle Sam Assembles A Big Stick

Monday, June 16th, 2025

Four plus days into Israel’s bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran, it’s obvious that Israel has achieved complete air superiority and is bombing Iranian targets at will. There’s ample evidence of successful precision strikes on a wide range of targets, from aircraft hangers and runways to oil storage facilities:

President Donald Trump continues to state that the American military will not be joining the conflict, despite Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s requests to do so.

That said, Teddy Roosevelt famously advised “Speak softly and carry a big stick,” and, right now, Uncle Sam seems to be crafting a mighty big stick within striking distance of Iran:

  • Item: There are now three aircraft carriers (two American, one British) taking positions within striking distance of Iran:

  • Item: “A major military airlift appears to now be underway, as an unprecedented number of U.S. Air Force KC-135 and KC-46 Aerial-Refueling Tankers have departed from airbases across the United States and appear to be preparing to cross the Atlantic towards Europe.”
  • Item: Multiple B-2s are already believe to be stationed at Diego Garcia, well within strike distance of Iran for the B-2 (though it might need refueling on the return trip).
  • Maybe all that movement is indeed just to give President Trump “options” should the Iranians try something crazy. But if I had to guess, it seems like the groundwork for some sort of planned operation is being laid.

    It may be that President Trump thinks that the the mullah’s current prostrate and distracted status may be the perfect time to settle the Houthi’s hash. Having already attacked American navy ships (absolute casus belli under international law), the time may be ripe to finally dismantle the Houthi threat.

    Another possibility: One thing the otherwise extremely capable Israeli Air force lacks is a heavy bomber. The B-2 can carry the 30,000 lb GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator, which has a much better chance of pentrating the massive reinforced concrete bunkers for Iran’s nuclear facilities at Natanz and Fordow. Given the complete destruction of Iran’s air defenses, Trump could even covertly greenlight B-2 strikes on those sites without telling anyone except Israel’s high command, giving him “plausible deniability” that America is involved.

    In completely unrelated news, there was an earthquake near the Fordow site that registered at 2.5 on the Richter scale…