US to deploy additional military assets to Middle East

The Pentagon announced the deployment as tensions escalate between Iran and Israel following the high-profile assassination of Haniyeh.

The US military has announced the deployment of additional assets to the Middle East, including an aircraft carrier, amid growing concerns about the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.

On Friday, the Pentagon revealed it would send an additional fighter squadron, Navy cruisers and destroyers to the Middle East.

“We have demonstrated since October and again in April that America’s global defense is dynamic, and the department maintains the ability to deploy at short notice to respond to evolving national security threats,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters Friday.

“Accordingly, the Secretary of State will order multiple force posture measures to strengthen the protection of U.S. forces throughout the region, to provide increased support for the defense of Israel, and to ensure that the United States is prepared to respond to this evolving crisis.”

The announcement comes after recent high-profile assassinations of officials from Hamas and Hezbollah, two groups linked to Iran.

Israeli forces are suspected of being behind the killings, and media reports indicate that Iran is likely considering retaliating, particularly after one of the killings took place on its soil.

This, in turn, has heightened fears of a conflict that could widen and cause destruction across the region.

Singh told reporters on Friday that the decision to increase U.S. military capabilities in the Middle East came after high-level calls with Israeli officials.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had a call with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant earlier in the morning, she said.

An earlier call took place Thursday between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Austin “engaged with Minister Gallant – and the president engaged with Netanyahu – to strengthen our force protection in the region,” Singh said Friday.

“We will support Israel in its self-defense, and that is what the Secretary reiterated to Minister Gallant in his call this morning.”

The increased military presence is the latest U.S. effort to deter attacks on Israel and avoid a regional war.

But the move comes at a tense time. Israel’s controversial war in Gaza will soon enter its 11th month, as fears of genocide and famine persist in the Palestinian territory.

The Biden administration has already signaled its full support for Israel in the event of a broader war. Despite criticizing the suffering of civilians in Gaza, U.S. officials have so far refused to openly pressure Israel to end the war in Gaza.

Biden, however, addressed the aftermath of the killings on Friday, describing them as a setback for ongoing ceasefire talks.

“It doesn’t help,” he said in a brief statement to reporters.

The Pentagon’s announcement comes less than three days after the assassination in Tehran of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh. He had been a key negotiator in efforts to secure a ceasefire, and his death is seen as a major setback for the negotiations.

Haniyeh was in Iran to attend the inauguration ceremony of the country’s new president. According to reports, an explosive device was placed in the residence where he was staying.

The day before Haniyeh’s death, on July 30, Fuad Shukr, a commander of the powerful Lebanon-based Hezbollah group, was also killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut.

The Israeli air force claimed responsibility for the attack. Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group, has exchanged fire with Israel across the Lebanese border since the Gaza war began in October.

The Biden administration, however, has expressed hope that tensions can still be eased.

“I don’t think war is inevitable. I maintain that. I think there’s always room and opportunity for diplomacy,” Austin said earlier this week.