The United States in search of a strategy for the gradual regime transformation in Iran

In January 2026, the Pentagon initiated a force buildup in the Persian Gulf, preparing a configuration that restores Washington’s options for direct operations against Iran’s infrastructure of coercion.

A key signal was preparatory planning to redirect the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln toward the Middle East, alongside the deployment of additional air capabilities within the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility.

These steps were taken in response to the regime’s further escalation of violent suppression of protests and to reduce security risks for U.S. partners in the region.

Washington is using the current crisis to identify an effective strategy for Iran’s transformation—one that would dismantle the regime’s repressive core while simultaneously shaping an environment that compels more pragmatic elements within the system to evolve toward a more negotiable and manageable configuration of power.