Matthew Hoh, a former captain in the US Marines and State Department official and now at the Center for International Policy, a US think tank, spoke with DW about President Donald Trump’s military buildup in the Middle East and the likelihood of a US attack on Iran.
“I think this is serious, that this is not bluffing. This is not for show. This is not a stunt,” he said. “The type of force the United States is putting into the Middle East is one that is capable of carrying out the operations that those in Washington, DC, want to carry out.”
He said the US was spending an impressive number of Navy vessels, fighter jets and other aircraft to the region.
“We see the aircraft carriers, we see the destroyers, we see the fighter squadrons. But, more importantly, you’re seeing the specialized aircraft,” Hoh said. “The electronic warfare aircraft and the command and control aircraft that the US Air Force is only going to put into the region in the numbers that they’re putting them into the region, if they’re serious about using them.”
Hoh also said the massive US military buildup would likely complicate diplomatic efforts to reach a new deal to limit Iran’s nuclear program.
“First and foremost in the Iranians’ minds has to be whether or not they can trust the Americans. Certainly, a deal was made with the Iranians more than a decade ago which limited Iran’s nuclear activities, which the Trump administration in 2018 pulled out of unilaterally, as well as the history of US-Iranian military conflict,” Hoh said. “The last decade or so of US and Israeli sabotage, assassinations of scientists, cyberattacks on Iran. All of these things have to add up for the Iranians to bring them to a place where how could they trust the Americans.”
