The Pentagon will send destroyers, missile cruisers with air defence systems and fighter jets to the Middle East, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said following US-Australian talks.
Austin made the announcement at a press conference with Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Massachusetts. The statement was followed by meetings with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles to discuss increased military cooperation and diplomatic efforts in the Asia-Pacific region.
Austin said:
To maintain our carrier strike group presence in the Middle East, I have ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt later this month. I’ve also ordered more cruisers and destroyers capable of ballistic missile defense to the region, and I’ve ordered the deployment of another fighter squadron to the Middle East to reinforce our defensive air support capabilities there.
The Pentagon chief noted that the changing US force posture in the region will expand the wide range of assets available to the US and Washington is prepared to rapidly deploy assets and respond quickly to evolving threats.
Austin also added that a strike on the Al-Asad airbase in western Iraq injured US soldiers and warned that Washington would not allow strikes on its own troops.
The US sent ships to the Middle East shortly after the war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas began. In late July 2024, Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh and senior pro-Iranian Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr were assassinated in Tehran and Beirut. Israel admitted involvement only in Shukr’s murder.
Iran and Hezbollah have threatened a harsh response to Israel over the killings of Shukr and Haniyeh. Yemen’s Houthis have also announced plans to strike Israel in conjunction with Iran.
