The US military will deploy additional warships and fighter aircraft to the Middle East the Pentagon announced, in response to escalating tensions in the region following the assassinations of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah military chief Fuad Shukr.
Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh stated on Friday: “We’ve demonstrated since October and again in April [that] the United States’s global defense is dynamic, and the department retains the capability to deploy on short notice to meet evolving national security threats,” she said. “As a result, the secretary will be directing multiple, forthcoming force-posture moves to bolster force protection for U.S. forces regionwide, to provide elevated support to the defense of Israel and to ensure the United States is prepared to respond to this evolving crisis.”
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday he did not think a wider war in the Middle East was inevitable and that the US was seeking to cool rising regional tensions but remained steadfast in its defence of Israel if attacked.
“I don’t think war is inevitable. I maintain that. I think there’s always room and opportunities for diplomacy,” Austin told reporters during a visit to the Philippines.
“What we have seen along the border, northern border, with Israel over time that’s been a concern of ours.”
“Again, We are going to give everything we can to make sure that we keep things from turning in to a broader conflict throughout the region.”
There was speculation that the Pentagon might not replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group in the Middle East once it completed its ongoing deployment, however, Austin decided to rotate in the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier strike group to replace it.
The Washington Post reported on Thursday, referencing a Pentagon official, that destroyers have been deployed in both the Persian Gulf and the Eastern Mediterranean and that the US has shifted its warships from the Red Sea, where they are engaged in countering Houthi missile and drone assaults from Yemen, to provide support to Israel.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on “all parties” to stop escalating actions, with the implication that the message was aimed at Israel after the deaths of Shukr and Haniyeh. When questioned about whether the US had provided Israel with a “blank check” for activities in the Middle East, Blinken stated, “The current path leads to increased conflict, violence, suffering, and insecurity. It is crucial to halt this cycle, starting with a cease-fire in Gaza.”
Top Iranian officials have met with the representatives of Iran’s regional allies from Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen to discuss potential retaliation against Israel after the killing of the Hamas leader in Tehran, five sources told Reuters.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Israel is finalizing arrangements with allies for a regional coalition to help thwart any attacks that may be launched by Iran or its proxies.
It names the US, UK, Gulf states, Egypt and Jordan as ready to help intercept missiles and drones should they be fired — in what is essentially the same coalition that almost completely thwarted Iran’s April 13-14 drone and missile attack on Israel.
