The United States and Israel are at war with Iran. It is the latest crisis in the U.S.’s long and antagonistic relationship with Iran that goes back nearly 50 years.
In recent weeks American warships and bombers had been amassing into the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean Sea as tensions increased.
These charts show that the U.S. has Iran surrounded. Once again, the Persian Gulf is an arena for a war in the Middle East, possibly as consequential as the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003.
What has the U.S. mobilized?
Most notable are the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, three guided-missile destroyers and the USS Gerald R. Ford, the largest warship in the world.
Leaving aside the recent build up of its forces, the United States has a heavy and permanent military presence in the Middle East. The Al Udeid air base in Qatar is home to several thousand U.S. military personnel and critical to previous air campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq. The U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet is based in Bahrain and polices more than five million square kilometres of this part of the world.
Caspian
Sea
TURKEY
Incirlik
Tabriz
Mashhad
CYPRUS
SYRIA
Tehran
Akrotiri
LEB.
IRAQ
Med. Sea
IRAN
ISRAEL
KUWAIT
JORDAN
EGYPT
Strait of
Hormuz
BAHRAIN
U.S. base hosting aircraft
Other U.S. base / outpost
QATAR
SAUDI
ARABIA
UAE
Aircraft carriers (2)
OMAN
Destroyers (13)
Duqm:
Logistics
hub
YEMEN
ERITREA
DJIBOUTI
Arabian Sea
200km
KEY AREAS
Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, Jordan
At least 24 F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets,
four EA-18G Growlers
and five MQ-9 Reaper drones
Khalifa Bin Salman Port, Bahrain
Three Littoralcombat ships
Naval Support Activity, Bahrain
Base of U.S. 5th Fleet
Al Dhafra Air Base, UAE
Reconnaissance aircraft and UAVs
Al Udeid Air Base Qatar:
Largest U.S. base in Middle East. Squadron
of RAF Typhoons deployed by Britain
Sources: graphic news; U.S. Central Command; Council
on Foreign Relations; The Maritime Executive
Caspian
Sea
TURKEY
Incirlik
Tabriz
Mashhad
CYPRUS
SYRIA
Tehran
Akrotiri
LEB.
IRAQ
Med. Sea
IRAN
ISRAEL
KUWAIT
JORDAN
EGYPT
Strait of
Hormuz
BAHRAIN
U.S. base hosting aircraft
Other U.S. base / outpost
QATAR
SAUDI
ARABIA
UAE
Aircraft carriers (2)
OMAN
Destroyers (13)
Duqm:
Logistics
hub
YEMEN
ERITREA
DJIBOUTI
Arabian Sea
200km
KEY AREAS
Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, Jordan
At least 24 F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets,
four EA-18G Growlers
and five MQ-9 Reaper drones
Khalifa Bin Salman Port, Bahrain
Three Littoralcombat ships
Naval Support Activity, Bahrain
Base of U.S. 5th Fleet
Al Dhafra Air Base, UAE
Reconnaissance aircraft and UAVs
Al Udeid Air Base Qatar:
Largest U.S. base in Middle East. Squadron
of RAF Typhoons deployed by Britain
Sources: graphic news; U.S. Central Command; Council
on Foreign Relations; The Maritime Executive
TURKEY
Caspian
Sea
Tabriz
Incirlik
Mashhad
SYRIA
Tehran
CYPRUS
LEBANON
IRAQ
Akrotiri
IRAN
Khalifa Bin Salman Port,
Bahrain: Three Littoral
combat ships
Mediterranean Sea
ISRAEL
KUWAIT
JORDAN
Al Dhafra Air Base,
UAE: Reconnaissance
aircraft and UAVs
EGYPT
Muwaffaq Salti
Air Base, Jordan: At least
24 F-15E Strike Eagle fighter
jets, four EA-18G Growlers and
five MQ-9 Reaper drones
Naval Support
Activity, Bahrain:
Base of U.S.
5th Fleet
Strait of
Hormuz
BAHRAIN
QATAR
Gulf of
Oman
UAE
SAUDI
ARABIA
Al Udeid Air Base,
Qatar: Largest U.S. base
in Middle East. Squadron
of RAF Typhoons deployed
by Britain
U.S. base hosting aircraft
Other U.S. base / outpost
OMAN
Duqm:
Logistics
hub
for aircraft
carrier
Aircraft carriers (2)
Destroyers (13)
YEMEN
ERITREA
DJIBOUTI
Arabian Sea
200km
Sources: graphic news; U.S. Central Command; Council on Foreign Relations; The Maritime Executive
What are Iran’s capabilities in the air?
Iran’s chief weapon is its missiles, the most powerful of which have a range of 2,000 kilometres – enough to reach Europe. Iran does not have missiles capable of hitting the United States.
Iran’s air defence systems warning against incoming attacks are located in the north, west and southern regions.
Long-range air defence coverage
Caspian Sea
TURKEY
SA-20c (200km)
SA-5 (300km)
Tehran-Mehrabad
Hamadan
AFGHAN.
IRAQ
IRAN
Esfahan
KUW.
Bandar
Abbas
Bandar-
e Bushehr
PAK.
SAUDI
ARABIA
400 KM
Gulf of Oman
NOTE: Only standard and fixed sites shown.
the globe and mail, Source: U.S. Defense intelligence
agency, ‘Iran military power’ 2019
Long-range air defence coverage
Caspian Sea
TURKEY
SA-20c (200km)
SA-5 (300km)
Tehran-Mehrabad
Hamadan
AFGHAN.
IRAQ
IRAN
Esfahan
KUW.
Bandar
Abbas
Bandar-
e Bushehr
PAK.
SAUDI
ARABIA
400 KM
Gulf of Oman
NOTE: Only standard and fixed sites shown.
the globe and mail, Source: U.S. Defense intelligence
agency, ‘Iran military power’ 2019
Long-range air defence coverage
Caspian Sea
TURKEY
SA-20c (200km)
SA-5 (300km)
Tehran-Mehrabad
Hamadan
AFGHAN.
IRAQ
IRAN
Esfahan
KUW.
Bandar
Abbas
Bandar-
e Bushehr
PAK.
SAUDI
ARABIA
400 KM
Gulf of Oman
NOTE: Only standard and fixed sites shown.
the globe and mail, Source: U.S. Defense intelligence agency, ‘Iran military power’ 2019
Iran’s shorter-range missiles are capable of striking nearby Persian Gulf states and Israel.
Selected Iranian
ballistic missiles
Fateh-110 SRBM
(and variants)
Shahab 2
SRBM
Zolfaghar
SRBM
Shahab 1
SRBM
System
300–500
300
500
700
Max. range
(km)
Qiam-1
SRBM
Shahab 3
MRBM
Emad-1
MRBM
Sejjil (Ashura)
MRBM
System
Max. range
(km)
At least
Up to
Up to
2,000
750
2,000
2,000
Note: This chart does not include all systems in development.
All ranges are approximate.
the globe and mail, Source: U.S. Defense intelligence
agency, ‘Iran military power’ 2019; graphic news
Selected Iranian
ballistic missiles
Fateh-110 SRBM
(and variants)
Shahab 2
SRBM
Zolfaghar
SRBM
Shahab 1
SRBM
System
300–500
300
500
700
Max. range
(km)
Qiam-1
SRBM
Shahab 3
MRBM
Emad-1
MRBM
Sejjil (Ashura)
MRBM
System
Max. range
(km)
At least
Up to
Up to
2,000
750
2,000
2,000
Note: This chart does not include all systems in development.
All ranges are approximate.
the globe and mail, Source: U.S. Defense intelligence
agency, ‘Iran military power’ 2019; graphic news
Selected Iranian ballistic missiles
Fateh-110 SRBM
(and variants)
Shahab 2
SRBM
Zolfaghar
SRBM
Shahab 1
SRBM
Qiam-1
SRBM
Shahab 3
MRBM
Emad-1
MRBM
Sejjil (Ashura)
MRBM
System
Max. range
(km)
300–500
300
500
700
At least
Up to
Up to
2,000
750
2,000
2,000
Note: This chart does not include all systems in development. All ranges are approximate.
the globe and mail, Source: U.S. Defense intelligence agency,’Iran military power’ 2019;
graphic news
What are Iran’s forces?
Iran’s armed forces are split in two. The more significant is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is tasked with protecting the ideals of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, has oversight over Iran’s missile program and controls the Basij militia, which it uses to suppress protest. The IRGC reports directly to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The IRGC's dead former commander, Qassem Soleimani, got pride of place in this month's commemorations of the anniversary of the Iranian revolution. Mr. Soleimani died in a 2020 air strike ordered by the U.S. President.Majid Saeedi/Getty Images
Graphics by John Sopinski and Murat Yükselir