The United States is redeploying more naval forces to the Middle East to protect Israel and American forces from a potential attack by Iran and its allies, the Pentagon said.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, currently operating in the Pacific, and its accompanying destroyer squadron to head to the region along with an additional fighter squadron.
Additional ballistic missile defense units will also be deployed in the Middle East, not only to protect Israel, but also to protect US forces in Iraq and Syria, which are under attack.
US military capabilities already in the region include ground and air forces, as well as newly deployed destroyers, amphibious ships and an aircraft carrier to help repel attacks from Iran, Yemen or Lebanon.
Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said earlier that Austin was preparing "multiple upcoming force positioning moves to enhance the protection of US forces" and Israel, CNN reported.
The mobilization comes after the killings of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders in Beirut and Tehran in the past week. Israel has claimed credit for the former, but has not publicly commented on the latter.
There is great concern that the killing of Haniyeh and senior Hezbollah operative Fuad Shukr in Beirut will provoke a more unpredictable response than Iran's attack on Israel on April 13, which was telegraphed in advance in a way that allowed the US, France and the UK to help Israel repel over 300 rockets and drones.
In a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Joe Biden said the United States would provide additional military assets to "support Israel's defense against threats."
Iran's allies - Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen - could hit Israel from several directions at once, complicating defenses already strained by the ongoing war in Gaza and months of rocket and airstrikes from Lebanon.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah suggested this week that a coordinated attack on Israel could be planned. "Because they have chosen to fight everyone, they don't know where the answer will come from," he said. "The answer will come individually or coordinated".
Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi threatened a "military response to these crimes, which are shameless and dangerous, and represent a serious escalation by the Israeli enemy." | BGNES
