The US will send a fighter jet squadron to the Middle East and maintain an aircraft carrier in the region, the Pentagon said on Friday. This will increase the US military presence to protect Israel from potential attacks by Iran and its allies and help protect American troops.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has also ordered additional ballistic missile defense-capable cruisers and destroyers to the European and Middle East regions and is taking steps to send more land-based ballistic missile defense weapons there, the Pentagon said in a statement Friday evening.
The change fulfills a promise made by President Joe Biden to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In a call on Thursday afternoon, Biden discussed new US military deployments to protect against potential attacks from ballistic missiles and drones, according to the White House. In April, US forces intercepted dozens of missiles and drones fired by Iran against Israel and helped shoot down nearly all of them.
US leaders are concerned that recent Israeli strikes on Hamas and Hezbollah leaders could escalate violence in the Middle East, leading to threats of retaliation.
Iran has also threatened to retaliate after the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday, while senior Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur was killed in Beirut a day earlier.
Israel has vowed to kill Hamas leaders following its October 7 attack that sparked the war in Gaza.
Austin has ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group, which is in the Gulf of Oman but is scheduled to return later this summer.
The decision reflects that the Pentagon has decided to continuously maintain an aircraft carrier in the region for at least the next year as a deterrent against Iran.
The Pentagon did not say where the squadron was coming from or where in the Middle East it would be deployed. Many allies in the region are often prepared to deploy US military forces, but they do not want to make it public.
The Pentagon has options to provide additional land-based ballistic missile defense, such as Patriot or the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, known as THAAD, both of which launch interceptor missiles from specialized trailer-based mobile launching systems.
The Pentagon did not say what systems it would deploy to boost security in the region.
The White House said in a statement that Biden “reaffirmed his commitment to Israel’s security against all threats from Iran, including its proxy terrorist groups Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis”.
Earlier on Friday, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters that work was underway in this direction. She said Austin would direct “multiple” military operations to provide additional support to Israel and enhance the security of US troops in the region.
Military and defense officials are considering a range of options, from additional ships and fighter aircraft squadrons to additional air defense systems or unmanned weapons.
In many cases, the United States does not provide details because host countries are very sensitive to the presence of additional American forces and do not want these activities to be made public.
It is unclear which new ships will be sent to the Middle East.
U.S. warships have been continuously present there and in the eastern Mediterranean, including two Navy destroyers, the USS Roosevelt and USS Bulkeley, as well as the USS Wasp and USS New York.
Wasp and New York are part of the amphibious ready group and house a Marine expeditionary unit that can be used if an evacuation of US personnel is required.
Additionally, a US official said two Navy destroyers currently in the Middle East would head north through the Red Sea toward the Mediterranean.
At least one of them could stay in the Mediterranean if needed, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss troop movements.
tune in