Massive fleet of US warplanes heads to Iran as insiders warn of '90% chance of conflict'

These manoeuvres, in conjunction with the approaching USS Gerald R Ford strike group and USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, have led insiders to estimate that there is a 90 per cent chance of war.

Former Israeli intelligence chief Amos Yadlin said he believes a strike would happen in a "matter of days".

The fleet of planes includes more than 50 American fighter jets, which include F-35s and F-16s, and dozens of air-to-air refuelling tankers.

One source within the administration told Axios: "The boss is getting fed up. Some people around him warn him against going to war with Iran, but I think there is a 90 per cent chance we see kinetic action in the next few weeks."

The fleet of combat planes will be used to clear the path for heavier bombers behind them.

Sascha Bruchmann, a research fellow at the Bahrain-based International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank, said: "They are there to kick the door in, what we call suppression of enemy air defences."

The heavier bombers, such as B-2 stealth bombers and B-52 heavy bombers would be deployed from bases in the continental United States, Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, or Okinawa in Japan.

Twenty of the American F-35s headed to the Middle East took off from RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk on Monday.

A group of 25 F-16s also flew from the US to the region, landing in southern Israel, Crete, and Jordan.

US drones took off from Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates, spending several minutes over the region.

The MQ-4C Triton, used primarily by the Navy, is armed with 360-degree radar to surveil areas and track military targets.

Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday to conduct naval war games in response to America's building armada.

Experts believe this accumulation of weaponry could sustain a weeks-long campaign against Iran in the case of a counter-attack.

F-15s in the region have been seen fitted out to target drones, rather than for offensive operations.

Matthew Savill, the director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), said the US had now built up more weaponry than what most countries could assemble.

He said: "Israel could nearly double what is available in the air if it joined, and it’s worth recognising that the current force will be more precise than its predecessors, with greater air superiority."

He estimated that even without Israel's aid, once the second aircraft carrier arrives, the US forces could execute hundreds of strikes a week.

This comes amid talks between the two countries are being held in Geneva, with Donald Trump repeatedly threatening war if an agreement about Iran's nuclear programme is not met.

Vice President JD Vance said the Iranian regime was ignoring Donald Trump's "red lines".

He said: "In some ways it went well. They agreed to meet afterwards.

"But in other ways, it was very clear that the president has set some red lines that the Iranians are not yet willing to actually acknowledge and work through."

However, Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary, said diplomacy was always Mr Trump's first option.

She added: "Iran would be very wise to make a deal with President Trump and with this administration."