The Pentagon will send additional military resources amid the escalation between West Jerusalem and Tehran
Washington has dispatched more destroyers, cruisers, and an additional fighter squadron to the Middle East to defend Israel in response to heightened tensions with Iran, the US Defense Department announced on Friday.
Furthermore, the US has directed the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier currently deployed in the Middle East.
This announcement comes amidst escalating tensions following the killing of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran this week. Both Hamas and Iran have accused Israel of the attack and vowed revenge. Iran has also declared that the US shares partial responsibility for the attack as a “supporter and accomplice” of Israel.
While West Jerusalem has neither confirmed nor denied any involvement, it has repeatedly threatened to eliminate the Hamas leadership due to the group’s October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of around 1,200 Israelis and the capture of over 250 hostages.
The ensuing Israel-Hamas war has ignited escalating tensions across the wider Middle East. Iran and Israel exchanged direct fire in April after Israel struck an Iranian Embassy compound in Syria.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered adjustments to the US military posture to aid in the defense of Israel, a Pentagon press release published on Friday stated.
In addition to the aircraft carrier group, the deployed forces will comprise “additional ballistic missile defense-capable cruisers and destroyers,” along with an extra fighter squadron. “The Department is also taking steps to increase our readiness to deploy additional land-based ballistic missile defense,” the statement noted.
The US defense secretary informed his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, about the planned actions during a phone call on Friday morning, spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said earlier. “The secretary reiterated ironclad support for Israel’s security and informed the minister about additional measures to include ongoing and future defensive force posture changes that the department will take to support the defense of Israel.”
The administration of President Joe Biden is “convinced” that Iran will attack Israel within days and is preparing to counter it, Axios reported on Thursday, citing three US officials.
Biden spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone to reaffirm American support for West Jerusalem, a White House press release on Thursday stated. The two leaders discussed efforts to “support Israel’s defense against threats, including against ballistic missiles and drones, to include new defensive US military deployments.”