WASHINGTON, Aug 03 : American warships and fighter jets are headed to the Middle East to help defend Israel, the US\u2019 closest ally, in case Iran responds militarily to this week\u2019s assassination of Hamas\u2019 top political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran who is widely believed to have been executed by Israeli intelligence agencies.<\/p>\n
In a statement, Pentagon said Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin also ordered additional ballistic missile defence-capable cruisers and destroyers to the European and Middle East regions and is taking steps to send more land-based ballistic missile defence weapons there.<\/p>\n
The US moves include sending the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East, along with naval cruisers and destroyers capable of shooting down ballistic missiles. In addition, the US is sending an additional fighter squadron to the region and is taking steps to allow for the deployment of land-based missile defence capabilities.<\/p>\n
The Pentagon did not say when the various ships and aircraft will be in place, but in a statement Friday it described the moves as necessary to \u201cmitigate the possibility of regional escalation by Iran or Iran\u2019s partners and proxies.\u201d<\/p>\n
The statement also said the movement of more military capabilities to the region aims \u201cto improve US force protection, to increase support for the defence of Israel, and to ensure the United States is prepared to respond to various contingencies.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new orders came just hours after Austin pledged additional support to Israel during a call with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe secretary reiterated ironclad support for Israel\u2019s security and informed the minister of additional measures to include ongoing and future defensive force posture changes that the department will take to support the defence of Israel,\u201d Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said during a briefing.<\/p>\n
Tensions in the region have escalated significantly in the past week, following an Israeli strike in Lebanon that killed Fouad Shukur, Hezbollah\u2019s top military commander, and the subsequent assassination of Haniyeh, who was in Tehran to attend the inauguration of Iran\u2019s new president.<\/p>\n
Israel has not publicly claimed responsibility for Haniyeh\u2019s death, but Iran\u2019s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, named Israel and called for retribution.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe criminal, terrorist Zionist regime martyred our dear guest in our territory and has caused our grief, but it has also prepared the ground for a severe punishment,\u201d Ayatollah Khamenei posted on the X social media platform.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is our duty to take revenge,\u201d he added in a separate post.<\/p>\n
Iranian officials said Thursday they planned to meet with representatives from Iran\u2019s key allies \u2014 including Hamas, Hezbollah, Yemen\u2019s Houthis, and militias in Iraq and Syria \u2014 to plan their next steps.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow Iran and the resistance front will respond is currently being reviewed,\u201d said Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Iran\u2019s armed forces chief, speaking on Iranian state TV.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will certainly happen, and the Zionist regime [Israel] will undoubtedly regret it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
But U.S. officials have repeatedly signalled that Washington would not leave Israel undefended and would come to its support.<\/p>\n
During a call Thursday between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden \u201cdiscussed efforts to support Israel\u2019s defence against threats, including against ballistic missiles and drones, to include new defensive US military deployments,\u201d according to the US readout.<\/p>\n
US defence officials Friday likewise emphasized Israel would not stand alone in the face of any Iranian response.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will stand with Israel in their self-defence,\u201d said Ms. Singh, the Pentagin spokesperson.<\/p>\n
Besides the additional ships and warplanes being deployed in the Middle East, the Pentagon has a U.S. Marine Corps amphibious ready group with some 4,000 troops in the region.<\/p>\n
The USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group is also in the Middle East but is expected to leave once the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group arrives.<\/p>\n
This would not be the first time the U.S. has boosted its military capabilities to help shield Israel from an Iranian attack.<\/p>\n
In April, the US moved naval destroyers and other military assets into the region while coordinating with Britain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and other allies in the Middle East to thwart a massive drone and missile barrage by Iran.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON, Aug 03 : American warships and fighter jets are headed to the Middle East to help defend Israel, the US\u2019 closest ally, in case Iran responds militarily to this week\u2019s assassination of Hamas\u2019 top political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran who is widely believed […]<\/p>\n
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