The difficulty of striking Iran is clear from America’s unprecedented buildup. Experts say half of the US air force is now at Iran’s doorstep, a scale never seen even in the 1991 Gulf War. The deployed weapons reveal how far the United States might go.

The gambit was successful. At least twice, the president weighed ordering an attack on Iran, only to be dissuaded by aides from moving forward. But America now appears to be on the brink of war with Iran again. And this time, instead of acting as a deterrent, the Pentagon’s war plans are being used to draw up options for the president to consider.

Few nations in the Middle East have more to lose from a broader US-Iran war than Turkey.

An Iranian lawmaker has issued a direct threat that Iranian strikes may one day reach “Trump’s own palace,” warning of a “crushing response” to any U.S. attack and signaling that future conflict might not be confined to the Middle East alone.

The presence of U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, in his dress uniform at the talks in Muscat, the Omani capital, served as a reminder that the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other warships were now off the coast of Iran in the Arabian Sea.

Iran’s UN ambassador warns US bases will be legitimate targets if Washington attacks over nuclear claims. Trump gives Iran 15 days to deal or face strikes

Our stumbling into war with Tehran would be the latest in a self-inflicted 30-year road to nowhere

The child of Iranian immigrants and a Democracy Lab Rutgers professor reflects on Iran’s fight for freedom — and why recent U.S. actions should concern New Jersey.

The world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R Ford, steamed past Gibraltar on Friday bound for the Middle East as Donald Trump massed ever more American firepower within striking range of Iran.

A foreign policy analyst argues that the U.S. has nothing to gain from bombing Iran, citing four key reasons why military action would be a mistake and distract from other priorities.

After some delays, the United States is dispatching a second aircraft-carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, from the Caribbean to the Middle East to join the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and threaten Iran.