The continued build-up of US military in the Gulf region now points less to signalling and more to preparation.
The arrival of the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group near Iranian waters is already a significant move.
Another aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, was last seen near the Strait of Gibraltar and has been heading east to support potential operations. Other assets have also been moved to the region, reinforcing the impression that Washington is assembling layered military options.
Such deployments can serve as leverage in diplomacy. But taken together, they may also suggest that indirect talks between Tehran and Washington have reached a deadlock - one that could be followed by military action if neither side shifts positions.
This raises a fundamental question: why do Iranian leaders, at least publicly, remain defiant in the face of the world's most powerful military and its strongest regional ally in the Middle East?
