The US military will deploy additional fighter jets and naval warships to the Middle East amid rising tensions in the region – Reuters.
The carrier strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln will replace the group commanded by the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in the region, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said in the statement.
The announcement comes after threats from Iran and its allies Hamas and Hezbollah that Iran would indeed honour its promise to respond to the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh a few days ago in Tehran, one of a series of assassinations of senior figures in the Palestinian militant group amid a raging war between Israel and Hamas.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said he was sending more Navy cruisers and destroyers capable of shooting down ballistic missiles to the Middle East and Europe, as well as an extra squadron of fighter jets. The Pentagon said:
Austin has ordered adjustments to U.S. military posture designed to improve U.S. force protection, to increase support for the defence of Israel, and to ensure the United States is prepared to respond to various contingencies.
The Pentagon noted in the statement that the decision will increase readiness to deploy more ground-based missile defence systems. Previously, the US military stepped up deployments before 13 April, when Iran launched the drone and missile attack on Israeli territory, at which time Israel managed to successfully repel most of the attacks (300 drones and missiles) and suffered no significant casualties.
In spite of this, the White House has concerns now as the Hezbollah threat in Lebanon could pose unique challenges to any US efforts to intercept drones and missiles, given the group’s huge arsenal and close proximity to Israel. In a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Joe Biden discussed new defensive US military deployments to support Israel against threats such as rockets and drones.
“The Department of Defence continues to take steps to mitigate the possibility of regional escalation by Iran or Iran’s partners and proxies. (…) The United States also remains intently focused on de-escalating tensions in the region and pushing for a ceasefire as part of a hostage deal to bring the hostages home and end the war in Gaza,” Singh said.
Earlier, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office said an Israeli delegation would travel to Cairo in the coming days for talks to reach a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip and release hostages. The war began on 7 October when Hamas militants stormed across the border into Israeli settlements. Israel’s ground and air operation in the Gaza Strip has caused more than 39,400 deaths, mostly civilians, and displaced most of the enclave’s 2.3 million residents, Gaza’s health ministry said.
