Ivor Farhadi, a political analyst and a member of the Haft-e Aban Front, said the increase in the United States’ military presence in the region, the dispatch of the third aircraft carrier, and the deployment of air defense systems in Qatar and Saudi Arabia indicate Washington’s readiness for possible scenarios of fighting with the Islamic Republic.

He added that the Islamic Republic has lost a large part of its leverage, including the Strait of Hormuz, but it can still try to increase the costs of the conflict by attacking energy infrastructure in the countries of the region, activating proxy forces, or using sleeper cells outside the region.