The US is accelerating military deployments to the Middle East as it seeks to defend Israel amid reports of a potential Iranian attack, according to a statement by the Pentagon issued on Sunday.
Iran has been vowing retaliation against the Jewish State after the killing of former Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, hours after he attended the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
The Pentagon’s statement said that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered a guided missile submarine and the ‘USS Abraham Lincoln’ aircraft carrier equipped with F-35 fighter jets to the region.
“Secretary Austin reiterated the United States’ commitment to take every possible step to defend Israel,” the statement, issued following a phone call Austin had with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, reads.
Gallant’s office said he had discussed the “interoperability” of Israeli and US forces in the region with Austin. The Israeli minister has warned that “whoever harms us in a way that has not been done in the past, is likely to be hit in a way that hasn’t been done in the past.”
He expressed hope that it “won’t get to a point where they will force us to cause significant damage and increase the chances of war breaking out on additional fronts,” stressing: “We do not want this, but we must be prepared.”
Iran promised to inflict “harsh punishment” on Israel, which has neither denied nor acknowledged any role in Haniyeh’s killing. Washington expected a large-scale missile and drone strike on the Jewish state at the beginning of last week, but the attack has so far not materialized.
In April, Iran fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel in response to the Israeli bombing of its consulate in Syria. The barrage was mostly countered by Israel’s Iron Dome air-defense systems, but a number of missiles reached their targets, causing what Israel said was minimal damage to military installations.
The killing of Haniyeh has sparked global concerns about an all-out war between Israel and Iran. On Monday, the leaders of France, Germany, and the UK called on Iran and its allies “to refrain from attacks that would further escalate regional tensions.”
“No country or nation stands to gain from a further escalation in the Middle East,” they said in a joint statement.