The Pentagon announced on Friday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered an increase in U.S. soldiers, ships, fighter jets and “on the ground” firepower to counter Iranian threats in the Middle East region.
The US military “posturing” comes as Israel prepares for retaliatory attacks by Iran and its proxies in connection with the recent assassinations of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr.
“[S]”Secretary Austin has ordered additional cruisers and destroyers with ballistic missile defense capabilities for U.S. European Command and U.S. Central Command,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said in a statement outlining the additional resources being sent to the region.
“The Ministry of Defense is also taking steps to enhance preparations for the deployment of additional ground-based ballistic missile defense systems,” she added.
Singh said the Pentagon plans to send “additional fighter squadrons to the Middle East” and replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group with the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group.
She noted that Defense Secretary Austin had ordered the adjustments to “strengthen the protection of U.S. forces, strengthen support for the defense of Israel, and ensure that the United States is prepared to respond to a range of contingencies,” and said these adjustments would complement the “broad range of capabilities” the U.S. already has deployed to the region.
April: U.S. forces in the Mediterranean “Dozens” of intercepted messages the number of missiles and drones fired at Israel by Iran and its proxies in Iraq, Syria and Yemen;
The attack was carried out in retaliation for an Israeli attack on an Iranian diplomatic facility in Damascus, Syria, that killed two senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders, and consisted of a barrage of around 300 ballistic missiles and kamikaze drones.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called for a direct attack on the Jewish state over the killing of Mr Haniya, who was reportedly blown up by a secretly planted bomb in a Tehran guesthouse.
Haniyeh’s funeral took place in Doha, Qatar on Friday.
Hamas “Day of Wrath” In conjunction with the burial of the late leader.
Shukr ordered a rocket attack on a football field in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights last month that is believed to have killed 12 children, and was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Lebanese capital Beirut earlier this week.
The Israel Defense Forces “State of high alert” The fear is that Iran will launch another wave of large-scale attacks in retaliation for the killings of Shukr and Haniyeh.
A Pentagon spokesman said the US “remains committed to de-escalating regional tensions and promoting a ceasefire as part of the hostage deal” but “retains the capability to deploy on short notice to respond to evolving national security threats.”
